Paarl Boys’ High shows promising signs at Cape Co-Ed Festival

While their town rivals, Paarl Gimnasium kicked off their season at the Parel Vallei Hockey Festival, Paarl Boys’ High was also in action this past weekend at the annual Cape Co-Ed Hockey Festival.

The event ran over three days, from 14-16 March, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.

Boys’ High played their matches at Settlers High School, while Edgemead, Fairbairn, Stellenberg High, Durbanville, and Tygerberg High played host to other matches.

It was the team’s first outing of the year after a gruelling 10-week off-season programme led by Matt Smith, who’s taken over the technical skills profile at the school, that began late last year.

Coach Rowan McLachlan‘s side played four matches, against Settlers, Stellenberg, Bellville High, and Durbanville.

They played to a goalless draw in their opener against Stellenberg but upped the ante in their other three matches to beat Settlers 9-1, Bellville 4-0, and Durbanville 3-1.

Reacting to his team’s performances, McLachlan said he was pleased with how his young side bounced back from the draw against Stellenberg to claim three comfortable wins.

“We had nine young players joining the first team, and there were always going to be those first game jitters, which happened against Stellenberg,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “It was not our greatest performance or the start we were looking for, but perhaps [it was] the start we needed.

“From there, we worked on things that needed to be improved on and luckily got three good results.”

After their goalless start, Boys’ High hit their stride and found the back of the net with relative ease. They capitalised on their circle entries, scored most of their penalty corner, and were comfortable in defence for most of the weekend.

Their creativity in the final third impressed McLachlan. “It was nice to see the boys score some goals and create those positive moments out on the field,” he enthused.

“I was most happy with how we transitioned from counter defence into counterattack. I’m also happy with how we’re pressing teams and the areas of the field [where] we’re winning the ball. It’s a positive start, and we can only look to improve from here.””

The boys from Paarl will return to the turf next weekend in an unofficial pre-season festival hosted at the Maties AstroTurf in Stellenbosch.

There, they will face stiff competition from Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), Wynberg Boys’ High, and Paarl Gim.

McLachlan said they’ll use the forthcoming event to continue working on their systems without the pressures of winning.

“We want to focus on continuing to move the ball well and into threatening areas of the field and hopefully continue creating some goal-scoring opportunities.

“In saying that, those three teams are well coached, so we’ll also need to make sure that our defensive principles are fine-tuned.

“Overall, I think these pre-season warm-up games are a great initiative and great prep before we all start travelling across the country to compete against the best.”

Paarl Boys’ High is captained by AJ Mostert, with goalkeeper, Luan Bornman serving as his deputy. The duo both reached 75 caps for the school over the weekend.

Players to look out for this season include Tiaan Liebenberg, who made his 1st XI  debut in grade 9. Martin de Bruyn and Ullrich Drotchie, who have moved up from the u16A side, could become significant contributors.

At the end of March, Boys’ High will travel to Durban to play in the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup.

PAARL BOYS’ HIGH RESULTS

Paarl Boys’ High 0-0 Stellenberg
Paarl Boys’ High 9-1 Settlers High School
Paarl Boys’ High 4-0 Bellville High School
Paarl Boys’ High 3-1 Durbanville High School

OTHER BOYS’ RESULTS

GIRLS’ RESULTS

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Avuyile Sawula

Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism degree from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background, having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, video editing and running.

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