Selborne vs Pearson headlines bumper weekend in the Eastern Cape
Selborne College will pursue a 15th consecutive win since the start of the 2024 season when they face off against Pearson High School in Gqeberha on Friday evening.
The match begins at 18:30 on the Top Astroturf.
Since playing their first match, Selborne is undefeated and untied, winning every one of their matches.
Coach KJ Friend‘s team has been deadly in front of goal, causing their opposition many problems, while remaining solid as a rock on defence.
Their unbeaten record began at the Tony Godding Festival, hosted in East London, in March.
There, they recorded wins against St Andrew’s School (Bloemfontein) (4-0), Woodridge College (6-0), Linden High School (4-1) and Voortrekker High School (8-0), from Bethlehem.
They were far from done, however, and quickly turned their attention to the Nomads Hockey Festival, hosted by Maritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Nomads Festival brings together many of South Africa’s traditional hockey powers, giving them an opportunity to test themselves against the best, and to work on their teamwork and tactics ahead of the second term’s full hockey schedule.
Selborne, along with Grey High, was a cut above the rest during the festival, with both going unbeaten after recording five wins each.
The East London school defeated King Edward VII (5-2), before claiming the scalps of Maritzburg College (2-0), St John’s College (2-1), Pretoria Boys High (1-0), and Jeppe (1-0), respectively.
They went on to sweep their opposition at the KES Easter Hockey Festival last weekend, maintaining their unbeaten record while scoring 15 goals and conceding only three in their five matches.
Pearson, on the other hand, has produced mixed results thus far.
At the Tony Godding Festival, they picked up convincing wins against Cambridge High (5-0), and Queen’s College (4-0).
They were then held to a 1-1 draw by St Andrew’s School, before suffering a 0-2 defeat to Grey College.
Coach Dalan Phillips‘s boys then made the trip to the Coastal Cup in KwaZulu-Natal for another stern early season test.
There, they held their own against some tough opposition. They recorded very good wins against Menlopark (4-0), and Paarl Boys High (5-0), but went down by 0-1 margins to both St Alban’s College and Westville Boys’ High.
The last time the two sides met, Pearson High came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Selborne in the dying minutes of their encounter. The two teams met again at the Hibbert Shield in Gqeberha, and it was Selborne who won 3-0.
Pearson are the under-dogs, but they will enjoy home-ground advantage and would love nothing more than to end their Eastern Cape rivals’ spectacular winning streak to start the season.
Other matches:
The first weekend of action will also see Hudson Park taking on Cambridge High School, while Stirling High School welcomes Queen’s College to East London.
Fixtures
Friday, 5 April
17:30 -Hudson Park High vs Cambridge High School
18:00 -Stirling High School vs Queen’s College
18:30 – Pearson High School vs Selborne College
