Under 21 hockey side eyes medal in Africa Nations Cup

THE Namibian Under 21 women hockey side is confident of grabbing a medal at the African Nations Cup tournament currently underway in South Africa.

This is despite the Namibians going down 5-0 to South Africa in their opening match in Pretoria on Monday. The Namibians are competing against the hosts, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.They were scheduled to play their second match of the five-day competition against Nigeria yesterday afternoon.Team coach, Erwin Handura, told The Namibian Sport from Pretoria yesterday that his team needed to win at least two matches to qualify for a medal.”We have to go home with a medal and it will all depend on the players when they go onto the field.The spirit is good in the camp and as a coach, I can only go to a certain degree in preparing them.They have to do the rest of the work on the field of play themselves,” he said.He said despite the loss to South Africa, the Namibians did well in their first match under the circumstances.”Considering South Africa as being one of the top nations in southern Africa hockey, and them also regularly playing on an artificial turf, we managed to keep a lot of potential goals at bay,” he said.He said Namibian players only play on grass and there is no turf and it takes time for them to get used to the fast game played on an artificial turf.Both Nigeria and Zimbabwe also have artificial turfs in their countries and have mastered the fast game at the tournament so far.Nigeria lost to Zimbabwe 3-0 in their first match.Handura said Namibian goalkeeper, Josephine Kheibes, who was also voted as the Player of the Match, did well as she kept out at least five clear goals by the rampant South African forwards.He said South Africa scored four goals from penalty corners, with one from the field.The Namibian defence, according to Handura, also did wonders with captain Madelein Lessing leading by example, while Lerien Cotzee also put on a credible performance.He said he was happy with the commitment the players showed in the match and also praised his forward Frieda Kalondo, who tried breaking through the South African defence on several occasions.The multi-talented Namibian midfielder Margareth Mengo, specially flew in from Holland last week to represent her country at the tournament.Mengo has been playing hockey for a semi-professional club in Holland for almost a year now.Handura said Mengo was a tough nut to crack for the South Africans in the middle of the park.”She was unfortunately injured after she was hit on her ankle, and had to see a physiotherapist to determine whether she can continue playing.So far, indications are good that she will further compete in the event,” he said.The winners of the competition will compete in the Junior Hockey World Cup which will be held in Santiago, Chile, next year.The top two teams in the Nations Cup, will play for the gold and silver medals, while the bottom two will fight it out for the bronze medal.The competition was supposed to feature more than six African countries, but Handura said some of them did not confirm their participation due to costs involved.He said Kenya pulled out at last minute, while the other countries did not respond to the invitations.The Namibians also struggled in raising funds for the tournament.Handura said the players are staying in a self-catering facility where each player pays for her own meals.”We were bailed out by Nasria who provided us with a sponsorship of N$34 000 just three days before we left, with most of that money currently covering our accommodation costs,” he said.The Namibia Hockey Union (NHU), provided N$24 000 for the transport to and from Pretoria, while the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) helped the team with a further N$10 500 which paid for Mengo’s flight from Holland.The Namibian team will play against Zimbabwe tomorrow.The Namibians are competing against the hosts, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.They were scheduled to play their second match of the five-day competition against Nigeria yesterday afternoon.Team coach, Erwin Handura, told The Namibian Sport from Pretoria yesterday that his team needed to win at least two matches to qualify for a medal.”We have to go home with a medal and it will all depend on the players when they go onto the field.The spirit is good in the camp and as a coach, I can only go to a certain degree in preparing them.They have to do the rest of the work on the field of play themselves,” he said.He said despite the loss to South Africa, the Namibians did well in their first match under the circumstances.”Considering South Africa as being one of the top nations in southern Africa hockey, and them also regularly playing on an artificial turf, we managed to keep a lot of potential goals at bay,” he said.He said Namibian players only play on grass and there is no turf and it takes time for them to get used to the fast game played on an artificial turf.Both Nigeria and Zimbabwe also have artificial turfs in their countries and have mastered the fast game at the tournament so far.Nigeria lost to Zimbabwe 3-0 in their first match.Handura said Namibian goalkeeper, Josephine Kheibes, who was also voted as the Player of the Match, did well as she kept out at least five clear goals by the rampant South African forwards.He said South Africa scored four goals from penalty corners, with one from the field.The Namibian defence, according to Handura, also did wonders with captain Madelein Lessing leading by example, while Lerien Cotzee also put on a credible performance.He said he was happy with the commitment the players showed in the match and also praised his forward Frieda Kalondo, who tried breaking through the South African defence on several occasions.The multi-talented Namibian midfielder Margareth Mengo, specially flew in from Holland last week to represent her country at the tournament.Mengo has been playing hockey for a semi-professional club in Holland for almost a year now.Handura said Mengo was a tough nut to crack for the South Africans in the middle of the park.”She was unfortunately injured after she was hit on her ankle, and had to see a physiotherapist to determine whether she can continue playing.So far, indications are good that she will further compete in the event,” he said.The winners of the competition will compete in the Junior Hockey World Cup which will be held in Santiago, Chile, next year.The top two teams in the Nations Cup, will play for the gold and silver medals, while the bottom two will fight it out for the bronze medal.The competition was supposed to feature more than six African countries, but Handura said some of them did not confirm their participation due to costs involved.He said Kenya pulled out at last minute, while the other countries did not respond to the invitations.The Namibians also struggled in raising funds for the tournament.Handura said the players are staying in a self-catering facility where each player pays for her own meals.”We were bailed out by Nasria who provided us with a sponsorship of N$34 000 just three days before we left, with most of that money currently covering our accommodation costs,” he said.The Namibia Hockey Union (NHU), provided N$24 000 for the transport to and from Pretoria, while the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) helped the team with a further N$10 500 which paid for Mengo’s flight from Holland.The Namibian team will play against Zimbabwe tomorrow.