Argentina net series win
South Africa battled bravely against its South American rivals.
THE South African men’s hockey team fought bravely but could not overcome South American champions, Argentina, at a sodden University of KZN Pietermaritzburg pitch on Tuesday night going down 2-1. This meant a 5-0 series win over a young inexperienced and it has to be said experimental SA team.
The teams were deadlocked 0-0 at halftime but the Argentines kept up the pressure and opened the scoring against the African champions two minutes after the break (37th) when Facundo Callioni finished superbly after good defending had halted the initial move.
The home team were soon down to 10 men when umpire Ayden Shrives yellow-carded his former Maritzburg Varsity club-mate, Robin Jones, and minutes later (59th) the supremely talented Lucas Vila ran directly across the field from left to right before his pass was tapped in by an unmarked Matias Paredes lurking on the left goalpost.
The impressive crowd, who stayed the distance in the atrocious weather, erupted when SA pulled a goal back three minutes from the end (67th). A wonderful flowing move that belied the heavy, rain-soaked synthetic turf underfoot saw Pierre de Voux provide the final pass to fellow striker Taine Paton who swept the ball home from the edge of the strike zone.
SA have already qualified for next year’s World Cup finals in the Netherlands in May/June and it’s clear with this series the SA brains trust were experimenting with different combinations before making a final decision on the final team.
SA striker Craig Haley finished the series as top goal scorer for SA with three goals while Riverside Hockey Club player Taine Paton scored two goals.
Series results
Argentina 4-2 South Africa (Riverside Sports Club)
Argentina 1-0 South Africa (Kearsney College)
Argentina 3-2 South Africa (Queensmead)
Argentina 7-3 South Africa (Queensmead)
Argentina 2-1 South Africa (UKZN PMB)
