Namibia Women's Indoor Hockey Team

Namibia Women's Indoor Hockey Team

World Cup Qualifier – April 2014

Davin the hero as Namibia stun SA

Namibia’s women scored a stunning 4-3 victory against South Africa on Saturday night to tie their Africa Indoor Hockey Cup series 1-1 and send it to a deciding third match, but South Africa’s men beat Namibia 7-1 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their series.

Annalien Davin was Namibia’s hero, scoring a hattrick, while Marcia Venter scored the other goal in Namibia’s win against South Africa.
After losing their opening Test 3-1 on Friday night, Namibia had to win the second Test to stay in contention for a place at the 2015 World Cup and they got off to a great start with two goals in the opening four minutes.
Marica Venter opened the scoring on 2m when she slammed home a cross by Maggie Mengo, and 2m later, Annalien Davin made it 2-0 after a quick counterattack by Andrea Grogli. With the crowd going wild, Namibia continued to attack and Maggie Mengo nearly scored, only to be denied by a good save from Tarryn de Winnaar. At the other end, South Africa won two short corners in quick succession, but Namibian keeper Maxi Smith brought off some inspired saves to keep them at bay.
Just before halftime Davin scored her second goal, when she was put clear by Carla Brits and slammed the ball high into the net.South Africa made a determined comeback in the second half and opened their account 4m after the break through Eloise Walters. With the game opening up there were chances at both ends with Smith continuing to make some fine saves, while Brits had a shot cleared off the line by Kara Lee Stella.
Shelley Freyer finally grabbed South Africa’s second goal to reduce the deficit to 3-2 and there was drama when South Africa were awarded two penalty flicks in short succession.
First Maxi Smith brought off a great save from Stella, but she could not keep Tracy Bestall’s shot out as South Africa equalised with four minutes to go. But Namibia immediately struck back with Davin running onto a Venter cross to score the winning goal a minute later to send the home fans into raptures. The third and final Test between the women’s sides will be played on Sunday morning, starting at 08h30.
Namibia’s men’s team suffered a comprehensive 7-1 defeat after trailing 3-0 at halftime.
Namibian keeper DJ Strauss was once again in fine form, making some great saves, but
Mathew Fairweather put SA ahead from a short corner after 7m, but Namibia did well to keep SA at bay for long periods, with goalie DJ Strauss once again making some great saves. South Africa however struck just before halftime when Dale Isaac scored two goals in quick succession.
After the break, South Africa scored two more goals from short corners through Geoff Abbot and PG Geldenhuys, before Gavin Jelley made it 6-0 with a goal from open play.
Namibia finally opened their account when Devon Sprake scored from a short corner with 6m to go, but SA had the final say when Geldenhuys scored his second goal from a short corner with a minute to go.
With South Africa winning the first Test 10-4 on Friday night, they have now booked their place at the 2015 Indoor World Cup. The two sides will play the third and final Test match on Sunday at 20h00.

Namibia’s World Cup dream is over

NAMIBIA’s Indoor Hockey World Cup dream is over after both the national men and women’s teams lost their Africa Indoor Cup Test series against South Africa over the weekend.

The men were comprehensively beaten to lose the series 3-0, but the women’s series went down to the wire after South Africa won the first Test 3-1 on Friday and Namibia the second Test 4-3 on Saturday. South Africa however won the final encounter 4-1 on Sunday morning to win the series 2-1 and break Namibia’s hearts.
Namibia’s women’s coach Jeanne Davin summed up the disappointment after the match.
“We desperately wanted to win the series and obviously we are deeply disappointed. I actually cried which I almost never do, so it really touched us because we really felt that we could win this one,” she said.
In Sunday’s decisive third Test, Namibia matched the South Africans in an even first half as the teams went into the break tied at 0-0.
South Africa took the lead through Shelley Freyer early in the second half, but Namibia drew level through a great goal by Jocelle Deysel.
South Africa regained the lead through Eloise Walters midway through the second half, and with Namibia pushing for the equaliser, the visitors waited to launch some counterattacks.
Bernice Brink had a great chance to equalise, but her shot was well saved by South Africa’s goalie, before two goals in the final four minutes by Tracy Martins and Shelley Freyer sealed the match for the visitors.
Davin said it was an even match but Namibia failed to take their chances.
“It was a very even game and they knew if they drew the game they would win because they had one goal more than us on points difference. So we were pushing harder to win than them and then we made a few small mistakes which cost us but we also had our chances. At this level it’s a game of chances, and we didn't take the few chances that came our way, which was basically the bottom line of the game,” she said.
“We were extremely motivated and we felt woman to woman that we were on the same level as them. We never saw them as our superiors and we still don't and I think in Namibia we are actually moving forward in the sense that we don't respect our competitors too much anymore.
“We have the players, and we have the conditioning, so I think we just need maybe a tour to Europe and play a bit more together as a team and build.”
“I think hockey in Namibia is alive, coming from the youth up, I think we are becoming a force and I’m very excited about that,” she said.
South Africa won the first Test 3-1 on Friday night after leading 2-0 at halftime. Amy Greaves, Tracy Martins and Shelley Freyer scored for South Africa while Marcia Venter replied for Namibia.
On Saturday night, Annalien Davin scored a hat trick and Marcia Venter one goal as Namibia beat South Africa 4-3, after leading 3-0 at halftime.
Namibia’s men’s team were comprehensively beaten, losing all three Tests by big margins. South Africa won 10-4 on Friday, 7-1 on Saturday and 6-1 yesterday morning.
On Friday, South Africa got off to a cracking start, scoring five goals in the first §5 minutes and Namibia could not recover.
Gavin Jelley (two), Geoff Abbott (two), PG Geldenhuys (two), Shaun Davenhill, Keegan Kieck and Dale Isaac scored for South Africa, while Russel Bartlett (two), Ernest Jacobs and Ettienne de Villiers scored for Namibia.
On Saturday, South Africa won the second Test 7-1 after leading 3-0 at halftime.
Dale Isaac (two), Mathew Fairweather, PG Geldenhuys (two), Geoff Abbott, Shaun Davenhill and Gavin Jelley scored for South Africa while Devon Sprake scored from a short corner for Namibia.
South Africa won the final Test 6-1 on Sunday after leading 1-0 at halftime. Keegan Kieck (two), PG Geldenhuys, Justin Domleo, Andrew Cronje and Gavin Jelley scored for South Africa while Dewald Coetzee scored for Namibia.
Namibia’s coach Trevor Cormack was just as disappointed with the series defeat
“I’m very disappointed. We trained for three months and it’s just sad to get walloped like this,” he said after losing the second Test.

Durban 4 -Test Series @ SA Indoor Hockey – July 2014

Namibia loose by close margin Test Series 4-0

Bronze SA A Level Indoor IPT – April 2014

THE Namibia women's Indoor Hockey Team won a bronze medal at the South African Inter Provincial A level indoor tournament in Durban over the weekend.

With a bit of luck the team could have qualified for the final after they narrowly lost their semifinal 2-1 to Natal Raiders.

Namibia beat Natal Mynahs 4-3 for the bronze medal with Annalien Davin scoring a hat trick and Marcia Venter closing down the game with the last goal.

The goal keeper Maxi Smith gave a world class performance and kept out numerous shots with some spectacular saves.

The team had four members of the previous World Cup Indoor Hockey team of 2011, namely Jerrica Bartlett, Annalien Davin, Marcia Venter and Maxi Smith, as well as the Andrea Grogli as captain. This experience alongside young up and coming players made it a very competitive unit.

The team consisted of Andrea Grogli (c), Jerrica Bartlett, Marcia Venter, Annalien Davin, Jocelle Deysel, Robyn-Lee McLaren, Wiandri Ludwig, Maxi Smith and Jeanne Davin (coach).The team is preparing for the World Cup Qualifiers that take place in Windhoek from the 9 to the 14 April 2014.

"We have great expectations of this team and look forward to the Qualifiers in Windhoek," coach Davin said. The Namibian Indoor Men's team also had a very competitive tournament and finished sixth out of 10 team in Durban. The men's team, which is coached by Trevor Cormack, is also preparing for the World Cup Qualifiers.