South Africa produced one of their great Hartleyvale nights as they defeated New Zealand in a dramatic shootout to secure a second FIH Nations Cup Final appearance.
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The semi-final carried enormous weight. New Zealand, ranked 11th in the world, arrived with an unbeaten record in FIH Nations Cup history, while South Africa were without two major attacking weapons in Nic Spooner and Mustapha Cassiem. Adding further intrigue, the Black Sticks were led by Greg Nicol, the all-time leading goal scorer for South Africa.
The hosts started brightly and earned an early penalty corner, but Carlon Mentoor’seffort was saved by New Zealand goalkeeper Dominic Dixon. New Zealand soon won a penalty corner of their own and showed their quality immediately, with Kane Russell powering home a superb drag-flick to give the Black Sticks a 1-0 lead.
South Africa enjoyed good spells of possession in the opening quarter but struggled to turn territory into clear shots on goal. At the first break, New Zealand held the advantage.
The second quarter saw South Africa grow in confidence. The home side continued to apply pressure, forcing a number of penalty corners as they pushed for a way back into the contest. After a couple of chances went unconverted, Calvin Davis stepped up and delivered the moment South Africa needed, firing home from a penalty corner to level the score at 1-1.
It was a deserved equaliser and, at half-time, the scoreline felt a fair reflection of a hard-fought semi-final between two determined sides.
The third quarter produced one of the moments of the tournament. Jamie Seale launched a world-class run down the right flank, driving forward with pace and precision before delivering an outstanding ball into the circle. Kenton Melville’s lead was just as impressive, and the local star finished superbly to make it four goals in four games and give South Africa a 2-1 lead.
New Zealand responded with pressure of their own. South Africa were guilty of rushing at times in defence and conceded a few penalty corners, but Cullin de Jager stood tall, producing a superb save as the hosts held the Black Sticks at bay.
South Africa carried their 2-1 lead into the final quarter, but New Zealand found a way back. After a broken penalty corner routine, the South African defence did not react quickly enough to the second phase. Boyde fired the ball back into the danger area, where Fin Ward produced the decisive deflection to bring New Zealand level at 2-2.
Both teams had half chances to win it in the closing stages, but neither could find the final touch, sending the semi-final to a shootout.
That was where Cullin de Jager took over.
The South African goalkeeper held firm under immense pressure, saving all four New Zealand attempts in a remarkable shootout performance. At the other end, South Africa converted through Niel Raath and Hans Neethling to seal a famous victory.
The result sent South Africa into Saturday’s FIH Nations Cup Final against France, completing a night of heart, nerve and history at Hartleyvale.
