London – The South African women's side on Wednesday produced the longest match of the London Olympic hockey tournament thus far in their clash against Japan.
Japan won the closely-contested 9th/10th playoff classification fixture at the Riverbank Arena 2-1.
The sides were deadlocked after the final whistle and could only be separated after the second period of extra-time, as SA suffered their fifth loss of the tournament.
Having won only one of their five pool B encounters, SA entered the match hoping to round off their London Olympic campaign on a high after a disappointing group stage.
Both SA and Japan finished fifth in their respective pools, with Japan taking four points – following a win over China and a draw to Belgium. SA had a single, 7-0 victory over the US in their final pool match.
Both sides looked wary in the opening half, as neither went on the attack, opting to keep the ball between the midfield and defence before looking to enter their opponents' area.
The fixture was brought to life when SA opened the scoring in the 28th minute through Lisa Deetlefs, who got a touch off Kate Woods' shot from the South Africans' second penalty corner of the match.
SA goalkeeper Mariette Rix gave a superb performance once again, keeping her side in the lead in the second period, making vital saves from Japan's penalty corners.
Japan grew increasingly frustrated at their lack of opportunities as SA shrugged off their attacks.
The Japanese side had much of the possession throughout the second half but SA's defence held firm as Japan tried to claw their way back into the game and find the equaliser.
The pressure finally told as Japan's Ai Murakami scored her first goal of the tournament from a Japan PC, eight minutes from time.
SA were reduced to nine players with four minutes left on the clock through ill-discipline. Kate Woods and Bernadette Coston sat out the dying minutes of the clash.
The South Africans were lucky not to concede again with just seconds left to play. Japan missed a golden opportunity to steal victory with a cross from the right flank, narrowly missing a Japanese attacker in the area, with Rix left stranded.
The sides entered into extra-time (two seven-and-a-half minute halves) looking for the golden goal to end the match. Japan picked up where they left off, continuing to apply the pressure on the world number 12 South Africans.
An uneventful first half of extra time was followed by disappointment in the second as Japan won a penalty corner with just five minutes of play left.
Japan failed to score from the penalty corner, but umpire Stella Bartlema pointed to the penalty spot after a further infringement by the South Africans.
Ai Murakami then scored her second of the match to finish the contest, condemning SA to a 10th-place finish. – Sapa