Bishops 175 | Langa Hockey Club steals the show on day two
After playing to a 1-1 draw against Somerset College in their opening match of the Bishops Hockey Festival on Thursday, Langa Hockey Club returned on the second day to claim two victories at the Woodlands Astroturf in the southern suburbs to maintain their unbeaten record at the festival.
Langa entered the event as the underdogs, but they have quickly turned the tide and shown they’re made of stern stuff.
After their stalemate on day one, they came out firing on Friday against Bloemfontein’s St Andrews School and won that clash 1-0, courtesy of a solitary goal by Anda Dike.
Coach Wandile Mayekiso’s players then quickly turned their attention to their second match of the day, against Uplands College.
The team from Mpumalanga didn’t get any game time on Thursday after their match against St Andrew’s School was called off when the Bloemfontein side ran into transport problems on their way to the Mother City.
Uplands, however, started brightly, scoring the opening goal of the encounter. That turned out to be the only goal they would score in the match, however, with Langa taking control of proceedings for almost three chukkas.
Dike got his name on the score sheet once again, before Inathi Mngushelwa’s double sealed a 3-1 win for the side.
Reacting to his team’s performances, coach Mayekiso said he was pleased with the manner in which his players have applied themselves at the festival.
“I’m quite happy with the way things are going in terms of our tactics and the structure of the team,” he told SuperSport Schools.
“The tournament will be a great help for the club in terms of preparations for the season ahead, and we are learning as a club too.”
Langa will take on a side in top form on day three, when they tackle St Andrew’s College, at 13:20, before completing their day against Michaelhouse at 18:20.
In other matches played on Friday, Bishops were also on song, winning twice to keep their record clean.
They beat KwaZulu-Natal’s St Charles College 4-0 in their first match before seeing off St David’s Marist Inanda 2-0 in their second game, with goals from Robert Veldtman and Albert Steyn.
Commenting on their win over St David’s, coach Ryan Julius said: “It was a well contested match from both teams. I think we moved the ball quite nicely and manipulated their press really well.
“I think chances were quite equal on both sides.”
Bishops face St Andrew’s School and St Andrew’s College on Saturday.
Meanwhile, St Benedict’s College continued its impressive run at the festival. They drew 1-1 with Somerset College, before claiming a 3-1 win over St Andrew’s School.
Byron Comley scored against Somerset, while Josh Grobler struck twice, and Timothy Burnham netted the other, against Saints.
St Andrew’s College kept its unbeaten record with wins over St Charles College and Uplands.
Day three will see St David’s Marist Inanda going up against St Charles in the opening match at 08:20.
St Benedict’s College faces Michaelhouse, while the final match of the day, fittingly, brings together the unbeaten Bishops and St Andrew’s College.
Day 2: Results
Langa Hockey Club 2-1 St Andrew’s School
Uplands College 1-2 St Andrew’s College
Somerset College 1-1 St Benedict’s
Bishops 4-0 St Charles College
St David’s Marist Inanda 2-2 Michaelhouse
Langa Hockey Club 3-1 Uplands College
St Benedict’s 3-1 St Andrew’s School
St Charles 0-1 St Andrew’s College
Bishops 2-0 St David’s Marist Inanda
Somerset College 3-2 Michaelhouse
Fixtures
Saturday, 23 March
08:20 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs St Charles; 09:30 – Somerset College vs Uplands; 10:40 – St Benedict’s College vs Michaelhouse; 11:50 – Bishops vs St Andrew’s School; 13:20 – Langa vs St Andrew’s College; 14:30 – Somerset College vs St David’s Marist Inanda; 15:40 – St Benedict’s College vs Uplands; 17:10 – St Charles vs St Andrew’s School; 18:20– Langa vs Michaelhouse; 19:30 – Bishops vs St Andrew’s College.
Sunday, 24 March
08:00 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Uplands; 09:10 – Michaelhouse vs St Andrew’s College; 10:20 – Langa vs St Charles; 11:30 – Somerset College vs St Andrew’s School; 12:40 – Bishops vs St Benedict’s College.
