Germany warmed up to their quest for a seventh FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup title with a hard-fought 5-3 victory against South Africa in a Group B match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil this morning, in the second match of the opening day.
The most successful nation in the history of the JWC, the Germans, had claimed the title on six occasions.
This was the second win by the Junior World No 2 ranked team Germany over the No 10 ranked South African side on Malaysian soil this year. In the recent 11th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) tournament on 28th October in Johor Bahru, Germany crushed South Africa 6-1 in a Pool B match.
The Germans arrived in Kuala Lumpur with strong credentials after winning a Four-Nation tournament in Dusseldorf and claimed the SOJC title for the second time. However, that was not the scenario today as the South Africans performed brilliantly to come back from three goals down to reduce the deficit to 2-3, before allowing Germany to secure a 5-3 victory and three points.
Christian Franz converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, Man of the Match Florian Sperling added the second (10th, FG). Liam Holdermann was taken to hospital after complaining of chest pain before the start of the match. He returned in the second quarter to deliver the third goal (24th, FG), while team captain Matteo Poljaric converted a penalty stroke (41st) and Ben Hasbach scored the fifth goal (59th).
South Africa scored through David Tshebi (24th, FG), Jaydon Brooker (39th, PC) and Hans Neethling (53rd, FG).
Eijk van Rein, Germany coach, said, “It was a hard-fought match. We held a 3-1 lead in the first half but South Africa played a great game to stage a remarkable comeback. We had one player who came back into the field in the second quarter after receiving treatment and another falling out due to injury.
“We had to do a lot of juggling in this match. In the end, the first game is always going to be messy, a little bit nervous.
In the second half, we allowed the South Africans space to score. We conceded goals when we should have regained the momentum. The heat was also affecting us severely.”
Guy Elliot, South Africa coach said: “Obviously, the Germans are a quality team. We also knew that the late morning heat might affect them and not so much us. We managed to keep the game going as long as possible, and we did that with goals coming in.
“I would say we were not particularly brilliant, but in the last quarter, we really lifted everything out. There was great passion. That is what I can ask from them. We will definitely come out of this defeat and look towards a better game against France.”
In an earlier match, France rolled out a 3-1 win over Egypt in their Group B opening match at the same venue.
The French scored through Arthur Morcrette (21st minute), Mathis Clement (25th) and Gaspard Denis (38th), while the Egyptians, competing in their 10th JWC, replied via Ahmed Elhadi’s 49th-minute field goal. Both teams last met at the 1985 JWC in Vancouver, Canada. The French won 3-1.
Matthias Dierckens, France coach, said,: “It is never easy to start a tournament. Obviously, we are not used to playing Egypt, and we had to adjust our game in the first quarter.”
“Both France and Egypt play a different style of hockey. But I’m not pleased with our performance today, even though I am happy with the victory and three points. I believe we did not play at our best.”
Moustafa Khalil, Egypt coach, said,: “We learned from our mistakes. Our players are young, and most of them play only in the local league, with and not many international tournaments.
“There were many chances against France, but as I said, our players lack experience. Hopefully, we will be able to play much better against South Africa in our next match.
Results – Group B: France 3 Egypt 1; Germany 5 South Africa 3.
