Ayakha Mathalane scored the first two international goals of his career to inspire South Africa to a convincing 4-0 victory over the United States on the third day of the FIH Men’s Hockey Nations Cup at the Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town.
After suffering defeat to France in their opening match on Thursday, national coach Devon van der Merwe was relieved to secure not only the win, but also four valuable goals, which could prove significant ahead of South Africa’s final Pool A clash against Ireland on Tuesday.
Playing in front of a packed Hartleyvale crowd, the hosts were made to work hard for the result. The United States defended resolutely, sitting deep in their own half and frustrating the South Africans by repelling wave after wave of attack.
Eventually, however, the pressure told and the space South Africa had been searching for finally appeared.
Reflecting on the performance, Van der Merwe said: “I think we were quite impatient in the first half because they were very resolute and worked well as a unit.
“In the second half they weren’t as dynamic, which opened up a bit of space for us. Our runners started finding their rhythm and we moved the ball with more conviction, finding gaps and making quality connections.”
It proved to be a memorable evening for the hosts. Alongside Mathalane’s maiden goals in national colours, Andrew Hobson celebrated his 50th appearance for South Africa.
Van der Merwe was particularly pleased for the young striker.
“What a moment that was for Ayakha,” he said. “He probably wasn’t at his best on the first night, but he settled beautifully and I think his confidence will grow tremendously from this performance.”
Having opened his international account, Mathalane admitted he had his sights set on adding to the tally.
“Scoring those two goals has put me in a good space and helped build momentum for the team,” he said.
“When I came back on, I just wanted to get another goal, both for the team and for myself, just to prove that I could do it. I think that helped put a lot more pressure on them.”
The only bad news for South Africa is that one of their key midfield players, Mustaphaa Cassiem, has been ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury he suffered on Thursday.
Meanwhile, France moved to the top of Pool A with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Ireland in a clash between the tournament’s two highest-ranked teams.
After weathering an energetic start from the Irish, who controlled much of the opening quarter, the French underlined their title credentials with goals from Xavier Esmenjaud and Timothée Clément to secure a second successive victory following their opening-day win over South Africa.
With Ireland ranked ninth in the world and France 10th, there is seldom much to separate the two sides – a fact acknowledged by both coaches, John-John Dohmen of France and Mark Tumilty of Ireland.
Unsurprisingly, Dohmen was the more satisfied of the two after the final whistle and praised the attitude shown by his players.
“We haven’t quite played at our highest level in this tournament, but we’ve been good and our mentality has been perfect, and that makes a difference between winning and losing,” he said. “There are still areas where we want to improve.
“Ireland played really well in the first quarter, then we grew into the game and managed to get the ball into the net.
“Ireland are always tough opponents for us. Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win, so we’re very happy to get the victory today.”
Dohmen also expressed his delight at the atmosphere created by the large crowd that packed into the stadium for a feast of international hockey.
“It’s very positive for hockey to have a crowd like that and it’s great for South African hockey,” he said. “I didn’t expect so many people, so I’m really happy to see it.”
Scorers:
France 2 (Xavier Esmenjaud, Timothée Clément); Ireland 0
South Africa 4 (Calvin Davis, Ayakha Mthalane 2, Kenton Melville)
Photo credits: Ray Chaplin Sports Media
