St Cyprian’s, Fairmont and Paarl Girls’ High impress at Spar Hockey Festival
There was early season joy for St Cyprian’s School, Fairmont High School, and Paarl Girls’ High, with all three delivering solid performances at the Spar Hockey Festival in Cape Town on Sunday.
They entered the annual pre-season festival seeking to sharpen their skills, analyse combinations, and work their systems ahead of a busy 2025 season, and they came away from it satisfied with the start they had made.
They played their matches at the DF Malan AstroTurf while other games took place at Durbanville, Bellville, and Stellenberg High School.
St Cyprian’s walked away with big smiles on their faces after ending the festival as one of the unbeaten teams at DF. Coached by the experienced Natalie Esteves, the girls from Gorge Road recorded three wins from their four matches.
They opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Parel Vallei before beating Paarl Girls 2-0 and Bellville 3-0 later in the day. They were held to a 1-1 draw by a resilient Fairmont side in their other outing.
“I was very impressed with the team. It was our first time playing together,” coach Esteves told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“The Spar Festival is always very tough. The format is tough, and it is still very early in the season. We just wanted to build connections and make sure that we get our structures right, and we managed to do that at times, which was very good.”
St Cyprian’s will next shift their focus to the Springfield Pre-Season Festival before undertaking an overseas tour.
Coach Esteves revealed three areas of her team’s game that need improvement. “We want to work on our one-on-one in defence and attack,” she explained. “That is always a focus for us as a team and just winning the small battles.
“We need to revisit the structural stuff, like pressing in different styles, and just executing in the final third.”
Another side that went unbeaten was Fairmont High. Coach Bryce West‘s side was far from their best on Sunday but they managed to scrape through and began to find their mojo as the festival progressed.
Victories over Bellville and Wynberg Girls’ High were the highlights of their day, while they also shared draws with St Cyprian’s and Durbanville.
Paarl Girls’ High, meanwhile, hit the ground running, playing under the guidance of head coach Marc Landman for the first time.
Landman joined the Paarl side in January after saying farewell to Rhenish Girls’ High School.
It was a winning start to his tenure as Paarl Girls kicked off with a 1-0 victory over Wynberg Girls’ High.
Their only defeat came when they went down 0-2 to St Cyprian’s. They rebounded with a 1-0 win over Durbanville and followed that with a 3-1 victory over Parel Vallei in their final match of the day.
“We had some great moments as a team in this festival,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“It was important for us to get some game time under our belts. I’m still learning about the team and combinations, and I’m enjoying every moment of it. We are looking forward to the season ahead.”
Lisa Craven shone for Paarl Girls and was named the player of the day after scoring a handful of good goals. Cassie Fairbairn also looked dangerous going forward, while Nika Pretorius was solid in the midfield.
Paarl Girls, St Cyprian’s, Wynberg Girls, and Parel Vallei will all be in action at the Springfield Convent School Pre-Season tournament, which takes place on 14-15 March.
RESULTS
@DF Malan
St Cyprian’s 1-0 Parel Vallei
Paarl Girls 1-0 Wynberg
Fairmont 1-0 Bellville
Parel Vallei 0-0 Durbanville
St Cyprian’s 2-0 Paarl Girls
Fairmont 1-0 Wynberg
Durbanville 3-1 Bellville
St Cyprian’s 1-1 Fairmont
Wynberg 0-0 Parel Vallei
Paarl Girls 1-0 Durbanville
St Cyprian’s 3-0 Bellville
Paarl Girls 3-1 Parel Vallei
Durbnville 0-0 Fairmont
Wynberg 1-1 Bellville
