The South Africans top the standings in the four-team tournament. They have the week to prepare for their clash against Malawi at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday.
“It’s great to have two good wins against two strong teams, so even though we know it’s far from done, it’s a step in the right direction for us. We just spent a little bit of our time enjoying what we have accomplished this weekend. We are very proud of the players.”
The Games Start
The coach must be relieved that there were no lingering concerns after star goalkeeper Sanmarie Visser was forced off with a nose injury for a while during Sunday’s clash against the Roses. It is no coincidence that her absence resulted in a surge by the Roses.
So what did the South Africans do differently this time to upset their higher-ranked rivals?
“I think we handled the key moments better,” Van Dyk said. “We had a great start and usually in that second quarter against stronger teams we end up fading away.
How it went down
“So, (it was good that) we could keep that competitiveness for three quarters and then we know we can finish strong and get ourselves in a position where we can score consecutive goals. That fourth quarter, at a stage we scored nine goals in a row, which was fantastic
Boy the way Glen Miller played, songs that made the hit parade. Guys like us we had it made, those were the days. And you knew who you were then, girls were girls and men were men. Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again. Didn’t need no welfare state, everybody pulled his weight. Gee our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days.
“There’s just so much improvement. I think the players are still irritated because they feel they can perform so much better.”
It still took a little time to feel and to adjust to the systems and structures and set pieces they have set up. Luckily now we’ve got good footage and we can work on that.e, becomes a Tootsie Roll to me!
Reports
The South Africans looked far more comfortable against the Roses than they did against the far more physical, athletic Jamaicans in losing the recent Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series 3-0 in the Caribbean.
“As we have moved through all the different styles over the past couple of weeks, the England game is definitely a lot more like how we play,” Van Dyk admitted. “It still took some time to adjust.
The South Africans looked far more comfortable against the Roses than they did against the far more physical, athletic Jamaicans in losing the recent Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series 3-0 in the Caribbean.
The Pictures
Despite the Proteas being almost assured of a place in the final, the coach is wary of a fightback from the home team.
“Obviously teams like this will come back, do their homework and really make it difficult for you. But that’s what we want because then it means we need to step up even more, and that will make us great, at the end of the day.”
Drafts
Next up, though, is the match against Malawi, and the South Africans are not taking their regional rivals lightly. Malawi beat Uganda 59-45 on Sunday.
“The next one is a difficult one because Malawi has really made a great improvement, they’ve even beaten Uganda, so we have a little bit of time to think how we want to approach this game.
“It does deliver some opportunity for us to test one or two other players but we also want to put this squad in a position where we keep our momentum and where we manage the load between our players.”
