Ace striker Candice Manuel says the national women’s hockey team are bent on bouncing back from defeat to Germany in the World Cup in London on Saturday, writes MARK ETHERIDGE.

The Sheldon Rostron-coached side went down 3-1 to the European outfit in their opening clash.

They were 1-0 down to a Viktoria Huse goal in the 14th minute of their Pool C fixture and 2-0 after 32 as Charlotte Stapenhorst netted.

Lisa-Marie Deetlefs pulled one back in the 40th but Huse sealed things with a second goal in the 54th minute.

‘It was definitely a bit of a disappointing start as I know what this side are truly capable of,’ reflected Cape Town’s Manuel to Team SA.

‘AS we all know, Germany’s defence is pretty tight and that was so evident in today’s game, with great defensive turnovers.’

It was the structured play of the European outfit that was the downfall of the South Africans.

‘We really struggled to get the ball forward,’ said a slightly bleak Manuel, who is already looking forward to the side’s next game.

‘As always we’ll spend some time doing video analysis of the game and identifying key areas we need to improve on in order to secure that win against Spain.’

Photo: Saturday’s SA v Germany action, by FIH