South Africa produced a statement performance in their final Pool A match, beating Canada 9-1 in Tamil Nadu to record their biggest Junior World Cup victory since a 9-0 victory over Mexico in 2005. The result gives the African champions a dim but very real chance of finishing as one of the top two second-placed teams, the final route to the quarter-finals.
With heavy rain falling, South Africa knew the equation was simple: a big win, or risk ending up in the middle eight of the play-offs. They started with a clear intention and immediately took control of the match. Jaydon Brooker opened his tournament account with a superb finish, and less than a minute later he repeated the strike, almost identical in execution, slightly lower, but just as clinical, to make it 2-0.
A short break allowed Canada to get back into the match when Robin Thind was given far too much space to finish calmly, cutting the deficit to 2-1 by the end of the first quarter and providing the only moment of frustration in an otherwise dominant opening period.
South Africa quickly reset and reaffirmed its superiority. Midway through the second quarter, Ross Montgomery pounced on a turnover and found Brett Horn, who made no mistake this time with a composed finish for 3-1. Moments later, Sian Maar reacted quickest to a rebound to slam home the fourth, sending South Africa into halftime with a 4-1 lead and complete control.
Brooker completed his hat-trick early in the third quarter, this time with a flowing field goal of his own initiation, playing a delightful one-two before finishing clinically at the back. Litha Kraai’s sharp reactions created the next chance, allowing Dan Neuhoff to seal South Africa’s sixth-place finish before the end of the third quarter.
Carlon Mentoor then produced the goal of the match, firing a thunderous reverse stick shot into the roof of the net to make it 7-1. Brooker converted a penalty, his fourth of the match, before Ross Montgomery closed out the scoring, tapping home after excellent work from Brett Horn to complete an impressive 9–1 win.
South Africa now await the final pool standings to determine whether the emphatic win is enough to put them among the top two runners-up and secure a coveted spot in the quarter-finals, or whether they will compete in the mid-eight classification stage.
Source: SAHockey.co.za
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