The superb Netherlands u.21 side made light work of a resilient South African u.21 team with a 5-0 victory in their FIH Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup quarter-final encounter at the NWU Astroturf on Friday (8 April).
The Dutch, who are yet to concede a goal in the FIH Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup, had their toughest match of the competition to date against the hosts who gave it their all and could’ve scored a couple of goals themselves.
The ladies in orange scored through Jip Dicke (2) in the first half and Omrani Noor and Luna Fokke (2) in the second half. South Africa’s Onthatile Zulu and Bianca Wood had chances to score but could not find the goal when it mattered most.
SA captain, Onthatile Zulu, stated that she was proud of her team, although they now have to shift their focus away from the trophy.
“We just did not execute as well as the Dutch. Our next game is against Korea, who we had a practice game against ahead of the World Cup. We hope to prove ourselves and get the win in the next game,” stated a disappointed Zulu. T
he Dutch were just more clinical on the day and showed why they are favourites to win the title. They have already scored an amazing 43 goals from their four matches. They will now face India in the semi-final on Sunday (10 April), while South Africa will battle Korea in a 5-8 playoff match.
Photos: Wouter Pienaar
