A tense silence descended on the NWU Astroturf as South Africa’s goalkeeper, Anton van Loggerenberg and Korea’s Jang Jong Hyun, faced off for a penalty shot to determine who would progress to the FIH Men’s Hockey Nations Cup final.
The whistle blew and Jang, Korea’s top player and top scorer in the tournament, saw his shot saved by Van Loggerenberg.
See the save here:
The volume raised exponentially as the home crowd reacted in jubilation as South Africa sealed their place in the final in a pressure cooker of a semi-final match today (Saturday, 3 December) winning 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate in 60 minutes of regular time.
South Africa will now face Ireland tomorrow (Sunday, 4 December) in the final at 15:15, whilst Korea face Malaysia in the third/fourth place game.
Photos: Wouter Pienaar
South Africa won the shootout 3-2 thanks to goals from Mustapha Cassiem, Brad Sherwood and Tyson Dlungwana. Korea keeper, Kim Jae Hyeon, thwarted Ryan Julius and Dayaan Cassiem, but it was not enough.
Van Loggenrenberg, who came on as a sub specifically for the shootout, turned out to be the hero as he stopped Jung Man Jae, Ji Woo Cheon and Lee Jang Jun from scoring. Korea appealed against Lee’s save, with Jang getting a penalty shot, but that was also saved in a brilliant display of goalkeeping.
Earlier on, SA took the lead through Tevin Kok early in the second half, before Jang slotted home from a penalty corner with only 8 minutes to go.
It was tight and drama filled encounter where any team could’ve gotten the win on the day. The fans in attendance knew this and gave both teams a standing ovation after the end of the match.
