The South African men’s hockey team began their Commonwealth Games campaign with a hard-fought match against Pakistan on Saturday but were denied a victory right at the death.
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The South Africans took the lead at the end of the first quarter – Connor Beauchamp blasting the ball into the top left corner off a penalty corner. But Pakistan found the equaliser in the second period through Rizwan Ali to go into the halftime break all square.
Matt Guise-Brown then put the SA side back in front thanks to a penalty stroke, and while there were plenty more scoring opportunities created in the match, they were unable to capitalise.
Nevertheless, an opening victory looked to be in the bag before Afraz Hakeem put paid to that, firing in off a penalty corner in the final minute of the game to ensure a 2-2 draw.
"We thought we could get some points out of this game with the performance we put in. But they’re dangerous opposition,” admitted SA captain Tim Drummond afterwards.
"We’ve got a lot to learn and we have to learn quickly as a group because we’ve got a very important game on Monday [against Scotland]," he added.
Speaking about the South African team’s chances in the tournament compared to previous Commonwealth Games, Drummond said: “This team has really got a great chance of doing something special as a group. We know we’ve got to stick to the cliché and try and take it game by game.
"We all feel it as a group, we feel there’s something there, but we know how tough and difficult it’s going to be."
Drummond also commented on how beneficial the team’s inclusion in this year’s FIH Pro League has been. "It’s been massive for us, and for our squad. For some of those guys who normally don’t play international hockey to get that experience and to see what it’s like to play against some of the best players, that’s been huge for our self-funded squad," he said.
The South African men’s next Pool A match is against Scotland on Monday before they take on defending champions Australia next Wednesday and New Zealand on Thursday.
Meanwhile, after losing their opener 4-2 against Scotland on Friday, the SA women’s team now face an even tougher task, taking on four-time champions Australia tomorrow (Sunday). They then come up against Kenya next Tuesday before their final Pool B match against defending champions New Zealand on Thursday.
SATES GUNNING FOR TOUGH DOUBLE
Over at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, Matt Sates booked a spot in two of Saturday night’s finals.
He finished second in his 200m freestyle heat in 1:48.25 to qualify seventh fastest for the final.
The 19-year-old was then back in the pool for his 400m individual medley heat where he finished second in 4:19.04 to also progress to the final on what will be a tough evening schedule with only just over an hour between his races.
Meanwhile, also looking good was Emma Chelius, who finished second in her 50m freestyle heat behind Olympic champion Emma McKeon in 25.11 to book a spot in the semifinals. Also making it through were Olivia Nel (fourth in her heat in 25.40) and Erin Gallagher (fifth in 25.54).
Both Brenden Crawford and Michael Houlie progressed to the semifinals of the 100m breaststroke while Rebecca Meder did the same in the 100m backstroke.
And in the final race of the morning, the South African 4x100m freestyle relay team of Guy Brooks, Clayton Jimmie, Andrew Ross and Crawford booked their spot in Saturday night’s final.
The evening is sure to be highlighted by Pretoria teenagers Lara van Niekerk and Pieter Coetzé with the duo looking in great shape to claim South Africa’s first medals of the Games – in the 50m breaststroke and 100m backstroke respectively.
Elsewhere, Para athletes Tiaan Bosch finished eighth in the men’s T53/54 marathon which was won by England’s Johnboy Smith, while the SA women’s table tennis team of Lailaa Edwards, Danisha Patel and Musfiquh Kalam claimed a 3-0 victory over Fiji.