Action resumed after the rest day with three fascinating encounters to decide the 9-15th places. In the opening match, only a sudden death shoot-out could separate Wales and it took the cool head of Helene Herzog to send Austria through to the 9-12th place play-offs. There was no such decider needed in the Ireland vs Canada match as Ireland showed energy, flair and hunger to obliterate their rivals on route to a top 12 finish. The third match was a tense encounter between two debutant sides, Malaysia and Uruguay. Ending on the right end of a match that swung like a giant pendulum, Malaysia head to the 9-12th place play-offs.
All three teams progressing to join Zimbabwe in the 9-12th play-offs are making their first appearances at a FIH Junior World Cup.
To see the current standings, please click here.
Wales 0-0 Austria (Austria won shoot-out 4-3) (9-15th place play-offs) – Potchefstroom, North West University (RSA)
Austria started their match against Wales in very much the same positive style as they finished their previous match against Korea. However, two penalty corner chances were wasted and as the first quarter progressed, Wales began making their own chances, with Betsan Thomas unlucky to miss a sweetly placed cross just in front of Austria’s goalkeeper Fabienne Gnehm.
The second quarter saw Wales piling on the pressure. In terms of possession and attempts at goal, the Welsh team were bossing this quarter. Madeleine Goodman came close with a reverse stick shot that flew across the face of the Austria goal, and the team seemed to have set up camp in the Austrian end of the pitch.
Demonstrating how quickly momentum can shift, the best chance in the half fell to Austria as Amelie Minar was left with only the keeper to beat after her team broke out of the Wales’ press. Ffion Horrell in the Wales goal was able to hold the attacker at bay until her defence arrived.
Both Head Coaches expressed frustration that their athletes had not made more of opportunities presented in the first half, so the second half started with an increased tempo on the part of both sets of players.
The tightly-contested match saw both teams building some good attacking moves through midfield but at each end of the pitch the defensive units were determined mood. Emily Drysdale for Wales and Johanna Czech for Austria were both equally competent in marshalling their defences.
If the Head Coaches, Walid Abdo (Wales) and Corinna Zerbs (Austria), were frustrated in the first half, they may have turned apoplectic during the final quarter as neither side could convert opportunities into goals.
A beautiful ball from Millie Holme found Cerys Preston in the centre of the Austria circle but Preston’s shot few harmlessly past the post. Seconds later Isabella Klausbruckner was in pole position to give Austria the lead as a cross landed perfectly in front of her. The striker’s anguish as she missed the connection was palpable.
A shoot-out was looking more and more likely as Katharina Proksch dribbled through the Welsh defence and had only the ‘keeper to beat. It was almost written in the text that her shot would go wide.
With 90 seconds left on the clock, Wales won a penalty corner and the tension rose another notch for both teams. Three consecutive penalty corners later and the final shot went past the Austria post.
In the shoot-out, momentum continued to shift between the sides. Austria took an early lead but Wales pegged them back and it was 3-3 after five attempts apiece. That meant sudden death and you have to feel sympathy for Madeleine Goodman who threw caution to the wind and went for the glory goal. Her shot was wide and it was down to the cool-headed Helene Herzog to put the ball past Horrell and send Austria - who were last minute entrants to this competition - into the 9-12th play-offs.
Player of the Match Johanna Czech of Austria couldn’t hide her delight as she said ‘That was awesome. We are just so glad we have won.’
Austria’s Head Coach Corinna Zerbs added: ‘I have to compliment both our girls and the girls from Wales. That was a tough game but in the end we got through it and won.’
Walid Abdo was clearly disappointed for his team: ‘We had enough chances to finish them off and didn’t take them. Then we went through the lottery of the shoot-out and even when we pegged them back, but we just couldn’t finish it.’
The result means that Austria will play Zimbabwe, who had a bye to the next round, in the battle for 9th-12 place. Wales will play Canada for 13-15th position.
Ireland 6-1 Canada (9-15th place play-offs) – Potchefstroom, North West University (RSA)
Ireland got off to a dream start as they took a 1-0 lead within two minutes of the start of this match. An incisive run by Siofra O’Brien created space and her pass found Rachel Kelly who sent it home with a rocket of a reverse shot.
This set the scene for most of the quarter as Ireland attacked with energy and creativity. The Canada team found themselves pinned into their own half.
Ireland doubled their lead in the 11th minute through Christina Hamill. Her goal came after the ball bobbled around the circle and Hamill reacted the quickest to slap it home.
Two minutes later and Ireland were at it again. This time it was O’Brien who scored from a well-worked penalty corner routine.
Canada almost got a foothold in the game with a minute left in the first quarter. Jenna Berger was unlucky to see her tipped shot just go past the Ireland post.
The second half got off to a more balanced start, with both teams creating chances and enjoying a fairer share of possession. However, Ireland were able to play with more composure, while Canada were more desperate to get both a goal and a grasp on the game.
As the quarter progressed, Ireland began to up the ante again. Constant pressure won a penalty corner. Despite a mistake with the trap at the top of the circle, Ireland turned their fifth penalty corner into a fourth goal. It was Caoimhe Perdue who was able to strike home from the top of the circle.
After their earlier loss to South Africa, Head Coach Dave Passmore had called on the Irish players to be more efficient in front of goal. As Emma Paul scored her team’s fifth goal – and third from penalty corners – the Coach could not have failed to be pleased with the players’ response.
The second half began in much the same way as Ireland managed to carve their way through the Canadian defence. Yasmin Pratt was next on the goal sheet. The ball was passed from outside the Canadian defensive quarter. Pratt controlled it and weaved her way past the defence before firing home to make it 6-0.
That was the only goal of the quarter although Ireland had plenty of chances. At the end of 45 minutes, Ireland had made 37 circle entries to Canada’s five entries.
Canada’s day was made more painful when Samantha McCory had a chance to score a consolation goal. Faced with a choice of shots, she decided to go for glory and lifted her shot over the crossbar when a simple ground shot would probably have sufficed.
However, Jenna Berger finally broke Canada’s cycle of missed opportunities in the 58th minute when she managed to push the ball over the goalie to score her team’s first goal of the tournament.
Player of the Match, Ireland’s Caoimhe Perdue, said: ‘I just think the whole game was so enjoyable. We played as a team. The fact that it was a different goals scorer every time was brilliant. We just need to keep on this now for the next game.’
Ireland’s Head Coach Dave Passmore said: ‘For the next game, I think we will do what we do for every game. We will look at the opposition and decide how we will play the match. The girls were fantastic today. They were calm , composed and capitalised on our chances both from open play and penalty corners. It was also good to get a good early lead as we were able to rest legs and key players. We have a squad of 20 and I am so pleased that we have rotated the squad. There is a nice feel to the group.’
Canada’s Head Coach Jenn Beagan said: ’We have nine girls on this team that are debutants so we are looking for improvement in every quarter and from every game.’ And she added with a wry smile, ‘My main message to the team before the next game will be ‘protect your feet in the circle.’
The results mean that Ireland will now play against Malaysia in the 9-12th place play-offs, while Canada will face Uruguay.
Malaysia 2-1 Uruguay (9-15th place play-offs) – Potchefstroom, North West University (RSA)
Malaysia dominated the first quarter, creating havoc in the Uruguay defence. However, two penalty corners and a number of incursions into the circle couldn’t break through the Uruguay defence. Uruguay goalkeeper Maria Bate was a commanding presence in goal and made some vital saves to ensure her team weathered the early onslaught.
The second quarter began with Uruguay showing greater dominance. An early penalty corner showed the intent of the Uruguayans to finish in the top 12 at their first appearance at this event. With just over three minutes left in half, Uruguay won their second penalty corner of the game but a brave diving tackle saw the danger nullified.
That tackle epitomised the courage of both teams’ defensive units. There was no shortage of action in the two circles but defensive qualities were the standout features of the first half.
Following the half-time break, Malaysia started the stronger and Siti Mohd was only denied by the excellence of Bate in the Uruguay goal.
Then demonstrating the unpredictable nature of the game, Uruguay took the lead through a well-disguised penalty corner. Elisa Civetta slapped the ball straight down the centre of the circle and the simplicity of the shot fooled Mashitah Ab in the Malaysia goal.
The goal had an energising effect on Uruguay and the attack, led by Agustina Suarez and Agustina Martinez, started to look very dangerous and the Malaysian defence did well to stem the attack.
The momentum swung again at the start of the fourth quarter and Malaysia quickly won a penalty corner. The resulting set play was well taken and Kirandeep Gurdip was well positioned to fire home. However, a fantastic reaction save by Bate pushed the shot away and the Uruguay athletes breathed a sigh of relief.
Malaysia finally found their equaliser as Siti Mohd got on the end of a cross from Iren Hussin. The commitment from the forward saw her dive full length to the ground and play the ball past Bate at full stretch.
Just seconds later Malaysia went from game chasers to game leaders as Nuramirah Zulkifli put every ounce of power behind a reverse stick shot that rifled into the back of the net.
With just five minutes left, the game moved up to a new tempo as Civetta ran the length of the pitch, ghosting past the Malaysian defenders. Her final pass was just too much for her forwards.
As the game entered the final minutes, Malaysia’s captain Nurmaizatulhanim Syafi encouraged her players to hold their composure and the team began to take the sting out of the game by passing around the pitch and making the Uruguayans chase the ball.
As the whistle blew, the Uruguayan team were inconsolable. For their part, tournament debutants Malaysia will now have the chance to play for 9-12th place.
Player of the Match Siti Mohd said: ‘It was a tough match because they took the lead first. But we took our opportunities well in the second half.’
Malaysia’s Head Coach Nasihin Ibrahim said: ‘At the moment we want to enjoy the win. We got our first win of the tournament. We have not played in a Junior World Cup before, so this was amazing. We are so proud of the team. We will focus on the next game against Ireland but for now we enjoy the moment.’
Head Coach to Uruguay Andres Vazquez said: ’We made some wrong decisions and we paid very expensively for them. We made mistakes that, at this level, we cannot afford to do. We scored a goal but the result was not okay.’
The result means that Malaysia will now play against Ireland for the 9-12th place positions. Uruguay will face Pan Am rivals Canada for the 13-15th places.
The action continues on Friday 8 April, at North West University, with four quarter-final matches. The action opens with an intriguing match-up between Asian rivals India and Korea. South Africa hockey supporters will be in for a treat in the second match as their team takes on the mighty Netherlands and attempt to break down that seemingly impenetrable Dutch defence.
The third game will be a fascinating encounter between unbeaten England and a resurgent USA side before Germany take to the pitch against another unbeaten team, Argentina. From 1–12 April, the Watch.Hockey app will be live streaming all matches, everywhere in the world.
FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup South Africa 2021 – 7 April 2022
Potchefstroom, North West University (RSA)
Result: Match 22
Wales 0, Austria 0 (Austria win shoot-out 4-3)
Player of the Match: Johanna Czech (AUT)
Umpires: Gema Calderon (ESP ), Sophie Bockelmann (GER), Kim Yoon Seon (KOR - reserve)
Result: Match 23
Ireland 6, Canada 1
Player of the Match: Caoimhe Perdue (IRL)
Umpires: Maria Locatelli (ARG), Wanri Venter (RSA), Kim Yoon Seon (KOR - reserve)
Result: Match 24
Uruguay 1, Malaysia 2
Player of the Match: Siti Mohd (URU)
Umpires: Victoria Pazos (PAR), Rebecca Woodcock (ENG), Wanri Venter (RSA - reserve)
To see the current standings, please click here.
To see the complete match schedule, please click here.
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