Cassiem strikes twice, but Jet’s ‘low blow’ clinches draw against Aussies

Mustapha Cassiem continued his scoring spree with two early goals against Australia at the Indoor Hockey World Cup on Sunday, but it was skipper Jethro “Jet” Eustice’s calm penalty corner late in the game that clinched a 3-3 draw for the SA men’s team.

Earning his 23rd indoor cap Cassiem claimed his 53rd goal from a penalty flick and then finished off an offence for No 54 to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

“When you go 2-0 up in an indoor game you can never get comfortable, especially against the Aussies,” Mustapha said. 

The Australians clawed back to 2-1 just before half time through Ben Staines and then Jake Sherren struck twice in the third quarter for a 3-2 lead. 

The pressure was on SA when they were  awarded a penalty corner with five minutes remaining, but Eustice was up to the task. 

He felt calm knowing that, in that situation, he was about to be substituted, and he thought through the routines they had practised and how they had played previous corners in the match.  

“I think maybe the zones we were trying to flick early on were a bit too high and maybe [Benjamin] Rennie, the Australian goalkeeper, knew that. I decided to flick low and see how it goes and it was a nice spot between his legs.”

Eustice said the team had let it slip in the third quarter. 

“In the first half we were very confident. I thought we controlled most of the game, but I think in the third quarter we put ourselves under a bit of pressure.

“We started making mistakes by maybe holding on to the ball a bit too long, which allowed [them to play to] their strength, which is a counterattack turnover type of mentality — and they were clinical. When they had their chances they took them and maybe we just left a few too many out there.”

Mustapha was unaware of how his strike rate might rank. “I’m a person who doesn’t really worry about statistics. You put in the hard work and that comes naturally when you back yourself and the work you put in.”

But he was confident his team could make their mark on the tournament. “We’re looking to recreate history and write this team into SA history books. I really think we can medal but it’s going to be tough and we’re looking to first get to the quarterfinal.”

The SA men's team play the Czech Republic on Monday (8.10pm).