Hockey qualifiers: Ghana into semis

Ghana sealed their position as second in pool A with a 4-2 win over Zimbabwe (FIH World Ranking: 55). The team ranked 41st in the world came to this tournament with high expectations, and three wins and just one loss is a reflection of how far the nation has come in its hockey development.

The Black Sticks will have the unenviable task of taking on a buoyant Egypt, winners of pool B. The north African team are, like South Africa, unbeaten in the tournament and playing some thrilling hockey.

This was a fractious match with two yellow cards for each team, but Ghana stamped their authority on the game in the first half, with goals from Elikem Akaba, Johnny Botsio and Francis Tetty.

Zimbabwe fought back through Arnold Mpofu when he put away a well-taken penalty corner, but Ghana never looked like losing their grip on the match.

This grip was tightened when Tettey scored a second, and although Pritchard Matambo scored a late consolation, the Ghana team knew they just had to defend the last few minutes to secure their place in the Semi-Finals and keep their Olympic hopes well and truly alive.

The Semi-final line-up for the Greenfields African Hockey Championships men’s competition is now complete after South Africa notched up their fourth win of the tournament with an 11-0 win over Namibia in Randburg, Johannesburg in South Africa.

South Africa (World Ranking: 15) consigned an unranked Namibian team to their biggest defeat of the tournament so far. The reigning continental champions set out their stall with a performance that was unrelenting in the pressure it put on Trevor Cormack’s Namibian team.

The scoring was opened by Matthew Guise-Brown in the third minute of the game, his well-struck penalty corner rattled past ‘keeper Handre Bezuidenhout.

Guise-Brown struck again in the 24th minute and his brace took him to second place in the top-scorer’s table, with 13 goals to his name, just one goal behind Egypt’s prolific striker, Mahmoud Mamdouh.