NMMU beat Wits into the seventh spot on the Varsity Sports Hockey Challenge log when they won 2-0 in Pretoria on Monday evening.
There was a hugely positive start from NMMU that lead to a penalty corner in the third minute of the game but the shot from Keisha Arnolds went wide.
The ball spent a lot of the first chukka in the middle of the field and after that early penalty corner chance NMMU could not string together another solid attack.
Right at the end of the first chukka it was NMMU who took the lead as Tristan Schroder showed some brilliant skills along the byline and slipped the ball passed Lisakazi Maseti to give her side a 1-0 lead at the end of the first chukka.
NMMU came out hard in the second chukka and they were rewarded again when a poor kick from Wits keeper Maseti fell to Tristan Schroder who showed good composure to score a good back-stick goal from a fairly tight angle. NMMU took a 2-0 lead in the fifth minute of the second chukka.
The Wits team battled to get enough posession in order to make inroads into the NMMU defence and they lacked precision in the final third of the pitch.
Right at the end of the second chukka Wits finally had an attacking opportunity and surged into the NMMU 25-metre area but as they pressed into the circle the shot was deflected wide.
From the resulting penalty corner the stop was poor so Wits had to attack from outside the circle. Wits won another penalty corner and again they cannot capitalise and that was the end of the second chukka.
Wits enjoyed the greater share of posession in the last chukka but they could not make this advantage count as their attacks were fluffed out on numerous ocassions by poor decision making and good defending.
Wits make a decisive run into the NMMU circle as they increased the tempo searching for that ellusive goal but a phenomenal save from the NMMU keeper denied them the goal that would have kept the Witsies in the game for the last five minutes.
The girls from Port Elizabeth had a chance to extend the lead with a penalty corner just a few minutes from the end but the Witsies defend it well and win the hit.
The scorers:
For NMMU: Tristan Schroder 2
