South Africa's celebrated Tarryn Bright made her 75th cap a memorable one when she scored the lone goal in the second Test against Ireland, at Hartleyvale, here on Tuesday evening.
The striker was honored before the start of the match, which marked her 75th appearance for SPAR SA. Apart from Bright's goal which came via a 61st minute penalty stroke, SPAR SA goalkeeper Marriette Rix provided the other highlight when she saved a penalty near the end of the match. At the outset Ireland battled to get to grips with the basics after heavy showers greeted the start of the match. That paved the way for South Africa launch one attack after the other on the Irish defense, with two scoring chances emerging. South Africa seemed to channel most of first-half efforts down the left flank, but they were checked by some stout defense from Ireland before they could convert their penetrative sorties into the circle.
Ireland on the other hand were left to mount their attacks from counter-attack opportunities. Their best efforts were launched down the right, where Elmar Cregan pulled off a few telling runs into the SA half. The sides changed ends without reward although SPAR SA held the upper hand for long spells. However, the Irish defense forced them to land their best scoring attempts from acute angles, and the ploy worked brilliantly for the visitors.
In the second half the Irish looked a far more cohesive side, and managed to apply pressure on the SPAR SA defense. Although they looked the more likely to score for about 12 minutes after the break, they lacked the finishing touch. After SPAR SA saw off Ireland's early second-half onslaught they regained the initiative but they too were unable to make an impression on the score line. But Bright changed that with a penalty to secure a victory for SPAR SA in a match where the Irish showed a marked improvement after their 4-0 drubbing at Stellenbosch on Sunday.
Source: Herman Gibbs (SAPA)
