DTS and Unam in pulsating hockey draw

FRIDAY night saw the rivalry between Unam and DTS men entering the next chapter as these two fierce competitors again locked horns in the Telecom Namibia National Indoor Hockey League at the DTS indoor facility.

As was the case in the previous encounter of last week, both teams went full out into attack mode from the outset in an effort to take the initiative. Play went from one side of the field to the other but both defences stood firm. It was not until the 12th minute that Sedric Makati was able to bridge the defence of Unam, scoring from a penalty corner and giving DTS a 1-0 lead. Unam responded with wave after wave of attack but found the DTS defence uncompromising. Shortly before half time, Unam’s task became even more challenging as they had their captain Joseph Kashamako, the hero of their win the previous over DTS, sent to the cooler for five minutes for disciplinary reasons. The halftime score was 1-0 in favour of the hosts.The second half saw both teams attack from the outset again but as the last quarter of the match was approaching, Unam increased the pressure by forcing several short corners only to be thwarted by some resilient defensive play by DTS with particularly goalkeeper DJ Strauss and Makati doing an excellent job between the sticks.The breakthrough for Unam finally came when the umpires agreed to award Unam a penalty flick following an infringement in the circle. Unam’s leading scorer Siabonga Martins stepped forward and scored from the subsequent flick.Both teams had the opportunity to win the game outright, but by the time the final whistle sounded, the score line read Unam 1 DTS 1.Unam coach Erwin Handura said that their preparation for the game had not been as they had wished and to compete at the highest level, it is essential that a team is well prepared. ‘One should also not lose sight of the fact that the DTS young players are fast improving. More goals should have been scored by both teams had their finishing touches been at the required level. Both goalkeepers that incidentally are also under-18 national players, excelled during the match.’In the women’s premier league the Unam team turned the table on their DTS counterparts following last week’s defeat by winning an exciting encounter by 2-0.