CWG hockey: South Africa-Australia draw throws open semis

NEW DELHI - Australia and South Africa played out a disappointing 1-1 draw to throw open the race for semi-final berths from Pool A wide open in the womens hockey competition of the 19th Commonwealth Games here Friday.

The deadlock put both teams at par with seven points each, and both needing one more from their fourth and last game to advance to the medal rounds.

The Aussies, gold medalists at the 2006 Games, took control with an eighth-minute strike by Emily Hurtz, but the South Africans levelled in the 31st when Sulette Damons found the boards. Thereafter, neither team was able to convert the few opportunities that came their way.

At the moment, Australia, South Africa, India and Scotland are in the race for the semi-finals. So, it could come down to goal difference, depending on how these matches go. As for us, we would like to win against Scotland and get through to the semis, said Australia team coach Frank Murray.

Murrays counterpart, Giles Bonnet opined that Fridays draw put South Africa in a must-win situation against India in the match due Saturday.

We will approach the India game like any other. It would be fantastic to get into the medal rounds as we had targeted 5-6 positions before the competitions had begun. A medal would mean a lot for the girls, but right now, we want to take one match at a time, said Bonnet.

Neither Bonnet nor Murray were too pleased with their respective teams performance Friday and dubbed it disappointing. They also agreed that both sides need to raise their game if they hope to progress further.

Murray hoped that a couple of his players who are on the injury list would recover in time for the Scotland game that he expected to be tight.

— Indo-Asian News Service