The Spanish men's team has beaten South Africa (5-3) in the first of the two FIH Pro League matches that they will play this weekend at the Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa.
A match that has served to debut on the new field that will become the setting for the 2022 FIH Women's World Cup Spain & Netherlands presented by Iberdrola.
The match began with a wide domain of some #Redsticks who quickly took over the game forcing the first opportunities that were sometimes channeled from the penalty corner.
Marc Recasens and Marc Miralles tried their luck with their respective pitches that would not go up on the scoreboard. It would be the forward of RC Polo, after two consecutive direct shots, the one in charge of using the light to put the Spanish victory on track (1-0, Minute 13).
In the second quarter, Recasens had the goal on his stick, but a good response from the goalkeeper Siyavuya Nolutshungu prevented the home team from scoring the second time. South Africa responded with a PC well defended by Ricardo Sánchez, who deflected the shot with his stick. Before the break, Gerard Clapés would score a spectacular goal after traveling 50 meters and dribbling past the rival defense to define at will (2-0, Minute 24).
In the third period, Max Caldas' team continued with the same intensity and, proof of this, it would be the third goal scored by the #Redsticks. José Basterra, after a double execution, stretched the difference to three after a definition from the ground (3-0, Minute 36).
South Africa reacted with a play by the captain, Keenan Horne, which Adrián Rafi successfully cleared. However, a foul in the area allowed Jethro Eustice to close the gap from the stroke (3-1, Minute 42). Marc Recasens, with a shot from the penalty spot, tried to score the fourth goal with a direct shot that did not reach a goal.
In the last set, Taine Paton started the fourth with a goal that added more emotion to the match in the final moments (3-2, Minute 47). However, on two occasions from the PC, they would resolve the match in favor of the Spaniards thanks to the success of Borja Lacalle (4-2, Minute 48), after connecting with his stick a rebound in the area, and a pinch by Álvaro Iglesias who it ended up in the drawer (Min 5-2, Minute 51).
Far from giving up, the African team took advantage of a new opportunity for Paton to reduce the difference on the scoreboard again (5-3, Minute 58) against a Spain that knew how to talk about the result to add another victory in the FIH Pro League.
Tomorrow, also starting at 7:00 p.m., the second and final match between both national teams will arrive.
This is the classification of the FIH Pro League:
