The Investec South Africa women's hockey team were beaten 3-1 by world number four China in the third Test between the teams at Wanderers Club in Johannesburg Thursday night.
China led this Investec International Series encounter 3-0 at half-time.
World number 12 SA lead the series 2-1 with the fourth Test at Wanderers at 7 pm Friday night.
China's Zhang Xiaoxue opened the scoring in the first minute, Liu Yating made it 2-0 in the 15th minute and Xiaoxue got her brace with four minutes to half-time. The inexperienced SA team, without captain Marsha Marescia and a host of stars, had a far better second half and deserved much more than just stand-in captain Pietie Coetzee's stunning goal - the best of the series so far - which she netted 15 minutes from full-time.
It was Coetzee's 207th goal in 212 Test matches and Natella Krasnikova of Russia's world record of 220 is getting closer and closer.
Earlier in the week, South Africa claimed victory in the first (1-0) and second (2-0) tests. The fifth and sixth Tests take place at the Kaspersky Randburg Hockey Stadium on Saturday and Sunday, both starting at 5 pm, before the Investec International Series roadshow moves to the University of Free State hockey centre in Bloemfontein.
And in exciting news released by SA Hockey Association CEO Marissa Langeni after Thursday night's match at Wanderers, world number 17 Belgium, who arrived in Johannesburg Thursday, will meet world number 14 Azerbaijan at 3 pm at Randburg on both Saturday and Sunday, making for an exciting double-header of hockey Tests on the weekend.
Source: SA Hockey Media Release.
