South Africa close in on final berth at Africa Cup for Nations

The race to land the final two places at next summer’s Rabobank Hockey World Cup in The Hague (NED) continued on Tuesday with the second day of action at the Africa Cup for Nations continental championship in Nairobi, Kenya.

South Africa closed in on place in the competition final with a comprehensive 6-1 win over Egypt, although Ghana have made the women’s tournament extremely interesting thanks to a 1-1 draw with South Africa.

South Africa men were simply sensational in their clash against Egypt, a team who many felt could be serious challengers to RSA’s title ambitions. A field goal from Taine Paton was enough to give South Africa a narrow advantage going into half time, but a three goal burst between the 42^nd and 47^th minutes from Lloyd Norris-Jones (2) and captain Austin Smith opened up a 4-0 lead. Smith struck again in the 59^th minute before Pierre de Voux made it 6-0 four minutes later. Egypt grabbed a consolation goal in the 68^th minute through Hassan Mohamed, but it did little to hide what was an emphatic South African win.

Also in the men’s competition, Kenya moved up to second in the league table courtesy of a 2-0 win over Ghana. Second half goals from Wanangwe Davis and Constant Wakhura proved to be enough to ensure that home favourites claimed all the points.

Ghana began their match against South Africa sitting at the top of the women’s league table, and a 1-1 draw ensured that they finished the day in exactly the same position. South Africa made the first impression on the scoreboard in the 26^th minute through a Cecilia Evans penalty corner. However, an open play strike from Elizabeth Opoku gave Ghana a share of the spoils and very much keeps them in the hunt for a place at the summer spectacular event in The Hague.

In the other women’s match, host nation Kenya recorded a stunning 13-1 win over Tanzania. The home fans were given a real treat in a match which saw nine different Kenyan players getting their names on the score-sheet, with Pauline Amutebi netting a hat-trick in the rout.

The Africa Cup for Nations tournament takes a rest day on Wednesday, with the action resuming on Thursday.

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2013 Africa Cup For Nations – Day 2 Results.

Men
Egypt 1-6 South Africa
Kenya 2-0 Ghana