Old Boys dominate field hockey

WINDHOEK Old Boys won both the men’s and women’s Premier League titles of the Field Hockey League that came to an end over the weekend.

The WOBSC men’s team won their last match of the season 4-1 against DTS on Saturday at the Doc Jubber Fields in Olympia.
With the victory, WOB broke Unam’s total domination of men’s hockey over the past decade, after they had won the title 11 times in 12 years since 2000. Unam’s player-coach Erwin Handura said they were not focused enough during the season, but congratulated WOB on their title.
“The season dragged out too long and we lost our focus. Also several of our top players were missing for our return match against WOB because the fixture was only confirmed very late after they had made other commitments. But I’d like to give recognition where it is due and congratulate WOB. They and DTS have some great youngsters coming through, which is good for Namibian hockey,” he said.
After their fifth win of the season WOBSC secured the title with a clear margin of seven points ahead second placed Unam.
DTS collected eight points during their campaign, which they finished in third position four points ahead of Wanderers.
Seven teams competed in the Reserve League and Masters emerged as the strongest side with 30 points, but in the spirit of Masters hockey, they were not promoted to the Premier League and will remain in the Reserve League.
Their spot in the top flight will be taken by Polytech, who came second after winning eight of their twelve matches, ending up with 27 points.
DTS took third spot with 19 points, followed by the X Team from Swakopmund (18), Wanderers (16), Unam (14) and the reserve team of Windhoek Old Boys, who finished bottom of the log with seven points.
In the Women’s Premier League, Windhoek Old Boys proved to be too strong for the other clubs.
On Saturday, WOB cruised to a convincing 7-0 win over DTS.
WOB won the Premier League title with 17 points, followed by Wanderers (12), DTS (7) and Unam (4).
The Women’s Reserve League saw six teams battling it out for promotion to the Premier League.
Like in the men’s competition, Masters turned out to be the best team of the season, but although they completed their ten matches undefeated and accumulated 29 points, they will not make use of their right to play in the top league next season.
Since second-placed DTS (20) already has a team in the top flight, no club from the Reserve League gained promotion.
Wanderers finished in third position with 17 points, followed by the X Team (13), Polytech (13) and bottom placed Unam (3).
During the prize-giving ceremony, league administrator Laurie Howard applauded the X-Team for their participation, since it was the first time in 20 years that a coastal team took part in the competition.
Furthermore it was acknowledged that Johann Weyhe, executive committee member in charge of umpiring, has been involved with Namibian hockey for 40 years.
In his speech the experienced referee called upon the youth to follow in his footsteps. “We don’t have enough hockey umpires in this country, so get involved,” he said.
– namibiasport.com.na

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