X-Team, Ramblers grab hockey titles

WALVIS BAY-based X Team won the coveted Unam Indoor Hockey tournament in the men’s Premier League for the first time, after they ousted favourites Unam 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out at DTS club on Saturday.

The ever-consistent Ramblers women’s team on the other hand, successfully defended their title in the Premier League, after they beat Windhoek Old Boys Social Club (WOBSC) 2-1 in their final match. Ramblers women had a busy weekend, after competing in the Top Score football competition on Friday night, before reporting for hockey duty the following morning.The men’s final was a tight affair, as the teams were tied at 1-all at the end of normal time, while they could also not break the deadlock in extra time.It was a shock defeat for Unam, who had earlier hammered X Team 5-0 during the group stages.In the final it was a different affair as X team held Unam at bay until the penalty shoot-out.Here, X-Team’s Rudi Germishuys, Fabio Celliers and Jasper van Zyl scored for their side, while Siabonga Martins and Heinrich Isaacs scored Unam’s penalties.Unam’s player-coach Erwin Handura was the star of the night with his attacking and defensive abilities.Unfortunately, Handura missed a crucial penalty flick, when his shot was blocked, to hand X-Team the title.In the women’s final, WOBSC were on the defensive for most of the game, but scored the first goal against the run of play.Ramblers kept on attacking but only managed to score the equaliser with less than two minutes remaining.They continued pressurising WOBSC to score the winner in the final seconds of the match.The Men’s First League was won by the youthful Cougars side who beat Wanderers 4-3, courtesy of one goal and the two-goal advantage rule for being a lower division team.Smarties also beat Unam II women on the advantage rule.The two teams played to a goalless draw but Smarties won by virtue of the two-goals rule which benefits lower division sides.Unam’s Heinrich Swartbooi was crowned Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the men’s premier league, while WOBSC’s Shane Cormack won the Most Valuable Player award in the women’s premier league.X-Team’s Emile Visser snatched the Men’s First League MVP and Victoria Ashipala from Unam was selected as the most valuable women’s First League player.The X-Team will host the next indoor hockey tournament in Walvis Bay on April 25 and 26.Additional Reporting by NampaRamblers women had a busy weekend, after competing in the Top Score football competition on Friday night, before reporting for hockey duty the following morning. The men’s final was a tight affair, as the teams were tied at 1-all at the end of normal time, while they could also not break the deadlock in extra time. It was a shock defeat for Unam, who had earlier hammered X Team 5-0 during the group stages. In the final it was a different affair as X team held Unam at bay until the penalty shoot-out. Here, X-Team’s Rudi Germishuys, Fabio Celliers and Jasper van Zyl scored for their side, while Siabonga Martins and Heinrich Isaacs scored Unam’s penalties. Unam’s player-coach Erwin Handura was the star of the night with his attacking and defensive abilities. Unfortunately, Handura missed a crucial penalty flick, when his shot was blocked, to hand X-Team the title. In the women’s final, WOBSC were on the defensive for most of the game, but scored the first goal against the run of play. Ramblers kept on attacking but only managed to score the equaliser with less than two minutes remaining. They continued pressurising WOBSC to score the winner in the final seconds of the match. The Men’s First League was won by the youthful Cougars side who beat Wanderers 4-3, courtesy of one goal and the two-goal advantage rule for being a lower division team. Smarties also beat Unam II women on the advantage rule. The two teams played to a goalless draw but Smarties won by virtue of the two-goals rule which benefits lower division sides. Unam’s Heinrich Swartbooi was crowned Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the men’s premier league, while WOBSC’s Shane Cormack won the Most Valuable Player award in the women’s premier league. X-Team’s Emile Visser snatched the Men’s First League MVP and Victoria Ashipala from Unam was selected as the most valuable women’s First League player. The X-Team will host the next indoor hockey tournament in Walvis Bay on April 25 and 26. Additional Reporting by Nampa