Bishops edges out SACS in Nite Series, Rondebosch remains unbeaten
Bishops Diocesan College star, Matt Fenn, netted five times to inspire his team to a nerve-wracking 9-8 victory over South African College High School (SACS) in round three of the SACS Nite Series in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The highly anticipated derby kicked off a thrilling round that produced 49 goals across three matches at the SACS Aquatics Centre.
Both southern suburbs giants entered the clash with a point to prove, while also intending to keep the log leaders, Rondebosch Boys’ High, in sight.
Last time out, in round two, SACS defeated Wynberg Boys’ High 5-4, while Bishops went down 5-7 to ‘Bosch.
As expected, the match got off to a fiery start as both sides battled to assert early dominance.
The first half belonged to Bishops, however. They scored five times and restricted SACS to three goals, in reply.
Matt Fenn was at the centre of it all. He converted three opportunities within the first two chukkas before Rondebosch’s unsung heroes, Noah Edmunds and Harry Ford, netted to make it five.
SACS, after taking an early lead through an Aidan Turrell strike, added further goals from their skipper, Matt Forbes, and their talisman, Jandro Rojo-Roos.
In the third chukka, the hosts came to life and played, arguably, their best water polo so far of the Nite Series. They controlled matters masterfully, were creative in attack, solid in defence, and played some brave water polo.
Their efforts were duly rewarded when they found the back of the net three times through Rojo-Roos, Turrell, and Harry Oldham. SACS also managed to keep Bishops scoreless in the third chukka and marched into the final quarter with a narrow 6-5 advantage.
The final six minutes of the contest epitomised why water polo is such a massive school sport in the Western Cape. It had everything: individual brilliance, late goals, and massive passion from the schoolboys cheering alongside the pool.
Just as they had done in the previous chukka, SACS started well, and Ben Bigara extended their lead to two goals early on.
That goal, however, sparked a response from Bishops. Timothy Young came to the party, scoring two goals before Fenn netted again to put the visitors 8-7 ahead.
With only 25 seconds left, SACS needed a miracle. Up stepped Turrell, scoring with a scorcher to complete his hat-trick. That strike tied the scores and set up a tense final 10 seconds.
It seemed the match was destined to finish with the teams all square, but six seconds was all Fenn needed to fire in a thunderbolt to clinch victory for his side just before the final buzzer.
That late dramatic goal was a big boost for coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s troops, who will tackle Reddam House Constantia in round four.
While Bishops got back to winning ways, Rondebosch continued their fine form and brushed aside Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) 13-7.
Bosch started slowly, but they soon hit their stride, and Noah Reiback was the man at the centre of the action. The grade 10 pupil scored a cracking seven goals and was joined on the score sheet by Kieran Bennewith (2), Luke Burger (2), James Pinnock, and the dangerous Jack Robinson.
James Swart was the standout player for PRG, netting four times, while Migael Terblanche chipped in with a brace.
In the final match of the day, Wynberg Boys’ High defeated Reddam House 8-4.
Riley Clarke was at the goalscoring helm for Wynberg, bagging five goals. They’ll face a stern challenge from PRG in the next round of the Nite Series.
Scorers
Bishops Diocesan College 9: Matt Fenn (5), Timothy Young (2), Noah Edmunds, Harry Ford. SACS 8: Aidan Turrell (3), Jandro Rojo-Roos (2), Matt Forbes, Harry Oldham, Ben Bigara.
Rondebosch Boys’ High 13: Noah Reiback (7), Kieran Bennewith (2), Luke Burger (2), James Pinnock, Jack Robinson. Paul Roos 7: James Swart (4), Migael Terblanche, Andrew Reynolds.
Wynberg Boys’ High 8: Riley Clarke (5), Samuel Mocke (2), Sebastian Kastern. Reddam House Constantia 4: Jethro Montagu-Fryer (3), Blake Brown.
