Canada drew with South Africa 1-1 in their penultimate group game on Saturday at the Kalinga hockey stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Scott Tupper’s penalty stroke in the 45th minute helped world number 11 Canada to avoid an upset to South Africa in Pool C which also features India and Belgium. He’d cancelled out Nqobile Ntuli’s field goal, two minutes earlier.
Canadian goalkeeper David Carter produced a string of saves to frustrate the South Africans before Ntuli scored in the match’s penultimate phase. From the left, he received a pass from Richard Pautz, spun to evade a rushing Carter and slotted the ball into an unguarded Canadian net to put South Africa ahead.
Paul Bundy’s Canadian side will next face India at the Kalinga Stadium on Saturday in their last pool game while South Africa will take on world No 3 Belgium. Both sides have a point each but South Africa, with a goal difference of -5, might need to avoid defeat against Belgium (a tough proposition) to stay alive in the competition.
South Africa, playing in their first World Cup in eight years, made a fine start. In the first quarter, they dominated the Canadians in shots on goals (5-0), circle penetrations (8-2) and possession (62%-38%). But they couldn’t convert into goals the moves they constructed well.
In the 11th minute, for instance, Nicholas Spooner sprinted superbly from the left flank and fed the ball to the goalmouth, hoping to reach his teammate Nqobile Ntuli. Ntuli dove and got to the ball before Canadian goalkeeper David Carter but his deflection was way off-target. It was a golden chance spurned.
South Africa, then, forced a double-save by Carter off two back-to-back penalty corners in the last minute of the first quarter. The first corner, drag-flicked by Austin Smith down the middle, was blocked easily by Carter. The second one, flicked by Smith again but to the top left corner, Carter deflected to the bar and the ball leapt to the gallery off the crossbar.
Canada’s game progressed in the following quarters but South Africa, overall, were the better team of the evening.
In the last five minutes of the match, South Africa indulged in adventure. They took out their goalkeeper to bolster their attack. The move almost paid dividends as South Africa got a penalty corner – their sixth of the evening – in the 57th minute but Smith’s drag-flick landed in the gallery.
Canada were more than happy to play out time but this is a result that helps neither side, in reality.
