Men’s Commonwealth Blog: Day 7
October 6, 2010
Today was a big day for the men’s team because we were kicking off our Commonwealth games campaign against South Africa. We awoke in the morning for a jog and stretch to get our legs moving in preparation for the match, unfortunately two of the athletes were still under the weather and were not able to join the group. The weather this morning was already warming up and the day did not look like it was going to cool down for our 14:30 game.
After breakfast Robin and Omar worked through the plan for the South Africa match, one which we felt was extremely important and well within our reach. After a quick snack we had some time to relax prior to departing for the hockey stadium at 13:00.
Despite not having a full healthy squad the group felt confident we could get the desired result against the African champions. After a slightly sluggish start we went down 1-0 via a penalty stroke sent high into Dave Carter’s net. Thanks to some brilliant work from Gabbar Singh and a powerful strike from the left side, the scores were then deadlocked at 1-1. This did not last long as South Africa once again grabbed the lead with a low drag flick just on the eve of half time.
The second half started better with more structured ball movement and solid defence. Again we were not able to hold this tempo and went further behind 3-1 on a powerful drag flick into the roof of the net. In an attempt to get back in the game we invested more into attack to create chances moving forward. With the emphasise on attack we were caught off guard and outnumbered at the back with Dave Carter left stranded and not able to keep the score line at 3-1.
A disappointing 4-1 loss was not the ideal start to our games campaign. With plenty to take from today’s game, we are now looking forward to our next match against England. Thanks from all the Men’s and Women’s athletes for all the support coming from home! Keep the support coming!
By: Matt Guest (Men’s National Team)
Link to the FHC Commonwealth Games Page
