Epworth lifts Spar KZN Hockey Challenge PMB Central title
Epworth School claimed a tight 1-0 victory over Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School (GHS) in a closely contested final of the Spar KZN Pietermaritzburg Central Regional tournament at St John’s DSG on Saturday.
They became the third team to book a place at the Spar KZN Hockey Challenge Grand Finals to be held at St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, in July. They join St Mary’s and Maris Stella, who punched their tickets last week.
There was little to separate Epworth and GHS. When they met in the round-robin, they played to a 0-0 draw.
That was the first of two draws that Epworth recorded in the round-robin phase of the competition. They were also held to a 2-2 draw by the hosts, St John’s. According to tournament rules, goalless draws earn teams a single point each, while draws with goals are worth two points.
While GHS and St John’s gave as much as they received from Epworth, the rest of the schools at the showpiece couldn’t match them. Epworth fired 17 unanswered goals past Russell High, Alexandra High (Alex), Carter High, and Maritzburg Christian School (MCS) to finish with 19 points after the group stage.
GHS appeared to be the team to beat. They swept five of their six pool matches and drew one, scoring 23 goals without giving up one in their round-robin outings. That gave them 21 points.
The hosts, St John’s, put on a good show in front of their home crowd, scoring freely, with 32 goals to their name, to finish as the most prolific side on the day. They conceded only three to the finalists, GHS and Epworth.
Unfortunately, for St John’s, they came up just shy of qualifying for the final, with their 18 points trailing the eventual champion, Epworth, by just one.
RESULTS
St John’s DGS 2-2 Epworth
GHS 1-0 St John’s
St John’s 8-0 Russell
St John’s 5-0 MCS
St John’s 7-0 Alex
St John’s 7-0 Carter
Epworth 0-0 GHS
Epworth 5-0 Russell
Epworth 4-0 MCS
Epworth 4-0 Alex
Epworth 4-0 Carter
GHS 6-0 Russell
GHS 5-0 MCS
GHS 5-0 Alex
GHS 6-0 Carter
Russell 0-1 MCS
Russell 0-1 Alex
Russell 0-0 Carter
Alex 0-0 Carter
