Abuja 2003: Ghana Beat Kenya

...in First Ever National Women's Clash
The women's national hockey team exerted themselves like they have never done all through the tournament to beat Kenya 1-0 in their epic penultimate game in the league series. With this scoreline, the team moves into second place behind unstoppable South Africa and look forward to a Kenyan win and a good result against the South Africans to guarantee themselves at least a Silver medal.

The Ghanaian goal came in the 32nd minute from the most unlikely source, captain Grace Marmon-Halm who connected a rebound during a penalty corner.

The Kenyans played well and dictated the pace of the game, but Olivia Lartey and Mirabel Lamptey were resolute in defense shielding the Ghanaian goal for the entire period of the match. The Ghanaians created opportunities of their own and contested well in midfield. The performance was better than those of the past 2 matches but there is the need for the coaches to improve the rough edges before they face the might of South Africa on Wednesday afternoon.

In the post-match press conference, Coach R. Abaidoo congratulated his ladies and express his optimism in giving a good account of themselves in the game South Africa and ultimately, winning a medal at the Games. The Kenyans applauded the Ghanaians and counted the opportunities they lost vowing to make amends in the Nigerian match.

In the other matches of the day, ruthless South Africa destroyed Zimbabwe with a colosal 13-0 win. The star of the show was Pieti Coetzee who scored a double hat-trick (6 goals) and set up a couple for others to complete the demolishing mission.

Nigeria laboured to beat Namibia 2-1 in a game that drew a lot of Nigerian criticism from the partisan crowd. The Namibians gave a good account of themselves and refused to be overawed or intimidated by the crowd or the Nigerian players.

Ghana takes on the might of Egypt tomorrow at 16:00hrs, with a win guarantee them at least a silver medal. Moral in camp is said to be high and was eveident when the men came along to cheer the women to victory.

The log is as follows:

Women:

 Country             P     W    D    L    GF  GA   D      Pts
 South Africa        4     4    0    0    37   0   +37     12
 Ghana               4     3    0    1     8   4   +4       9
 Nigeria             4     3    0    1     5   8    -3      9
 Kenya               4     2    0    2     4   11   -7      6
 Namibia             4     0    0    4     2   15  -13      0
 Zimbabwe            4     0    0    4     2   20  -18      0

Men:

 South Africa        3    3     0    0     10    1    +9     9
 Egypt               3    2     0    1     11    2    +9     6
 Nigeria             4    1     1    2      7    7     0     4
 Ghana               3    1     1    1      2    5    -3     4
 Zimbabwe            3    0     0    3      1   16   -15     0