Despite suffering a crushing 8-1 defeat to Germany in their final pool match at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Poreč, Croatia, the Namibian women’s team has managed to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the prestigious competition. 

They will face Austria in the quarterfinal today at 18h50. From the outset, Germany showcased their dominance. The match started with a quick strike from Germany’s Teresa Martin Pelegrina, who converted a penalty corner to give her team the lead. 

Innes Wanner followed soon after, making it 2-0 by the end of the first quarter. Despite the early setback, Namibia remained composed, holding off several German attempts, but they struggled to contain the high-speed and precise attacks that the defending champions are known for. 

The second quarter saw Germany’s pace increase exponentially. Maja Weber and Katarina Bauer extended their lead to 4-0, with Namibia’s defence unable to stop the relentless German attack. 

The Namibian women showed character, but the pressure from the German forwards proved too much to handle. 

At halftime, the game seemed all but decided, yet Namibia’s grit remained evident as they fought hard to keep the scoreline from expanding further. 

Germany’s offensive dominance continued into the third quarter. Wanner added another goal to her tally, followed by Philin Bolle, who struck twice to bring the score to 7-0. 

Bolle again found the back of the net for Germany once again, but in the final quarter, Namibia showed their character when Azaylee Philander converted a penalty corner, scoring Namibia’s only goal of the match and ensuring they avoided a shutout. 

The head coach of the side, Shayne Cormack said that it was a tough, dead rubber match. For the first five minutes, I was excited, but it was about playing at a high tempo the whole time. It was hard, when we won the ball, we just gave it away. 

I am happy with the potential I saw, the scoreline doesn’t reflect the effort of the player,” she said. 

“We need to go all out and strategies because we will find a team that is also energised like Germany in the quarterfinals,” said Cormack. 

The men’s team, who are also competing in the tournament, face Australia in their own crucial match later in the evening at 22h30. 

-lmupetami@nepc.com.na