Eustice wiser after tournament
Local hockey star Jethro Eustice has learnt a lot from Malaysia.
Although things did not go quite as well as the South African mens hockey team would initially have aimed for during the FIH World Hockey League semi-final tournament, in Johor, Malaysia, Benoni hockey star Jethro
Eustice is wiser from the experience.
The team finished eighth at the tournament and could not manage a win.
“It has been a pity about our results,” said Eustice.
“What I can take back from the tournament would have to be the experience of playing in an Asian country, as the culture, living conditions, climate and style of play are somewhat different to what I have experienced before.”
He added that the professionalism of the tournament was incredible.
“The FIH and the South African management team have been top class,” he said.
“I have learnt that playing teams at the highest level means that if there are any errors, the opposition willcapitalise with a high success rate, so reducing errors as a whole team is extremely important.”
Eustice said that the team’s goal now is to qualify for the World Cup in The Hague, in the Netherlands, in 2014.
“It has been tough, but we have shown that we can compete and believe that results will finally go our way,” said the former Benoni Northerns player.
“My aim is to keep playing for South Africa and I would love to score more goals.
“I am hoping to flick more goals past the world’s best.”
“The Lads” will be competing at the Africa Cup in September/October, where they will have another chance to qualify for the World Cup should they win the tournament.
“We are playing to get gold at the Africa Cup competition and then, hopefully, we can get a few more internationals early next year, against countries that have qualified for the World Cup already,” said Eustice.
