Three teams impress on day one of the Nomads Hockey Festival
Hilton College and Grey College made big statements on day one of the Nomads Hockey Festival at Jeppe High School for Boys, in Johannesburg, on Saturday, by both recording two wins on the scenic Boden AstroTurf.
They were joined by the hosts Jeppe, who were comfortable winners against Selborne College and Wynberg Boys’ High.
Hilton, guided by coach Damian Kimfley, kicked off their campaign with a sketchy 1-0 victory over St John’s College.
It was a scrappy outing by the KwaZulu-Natal side, who were taken to the gutters by St John’s but escaped an upset courtesy of a Rob Burman penalty corner flick.
They produced a more clinical performance in their second match of the day against St Benedict’s College, handing coach Owen Mvimbi’s side a 4-0 defeat.
Burman was on the score sheet again, where he was joined by Ben Wilson, Tadi ‘Tino” Hove, and Lizwe Ntshangase.
Reacting to his team’s performances, captain Xavier Enslin said they needed to work on their discipline and to be more clinical after a poor showing against St John’s.
“From our first game, we realised we lacked intentionality, and we had to get our heads in the right headspace,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We had to fix our mentality, be hungrier inside the circle, have the desire to score goals, and increase our energy.”
Hilton played with more intensity and attacked well against Bennies, while keeping matters tight at the back.
On Sunday, they’ll face Pretoria Boys High and King Edward VII (KES). Enslin explained how they were approaching the second day of action: “I think the biggest thing for us is to rest and recover tonight,” the skipper said. “We’re not done; we go again tomorrow.
“Any game can go anywhere. It just comes down to who performs on the day, and we know that, so we’re not naïve.”
Grey College, meanwhile, continued on their impressive run so far this season. They maintained their unbeaten record with a 4-0 win over Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) and a 4-1 victory against St John’s College.
Penalty corner specialist Matthias Visser struck twice against PBHS, while Waldo Koning also found the target.
Against St John’s, Visser scored another ripper from a short corner before his brother, Luke, Gianni Tyropolis, and Koning, added their names to the scoresheet.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start than getting two wins on day one of the Nomads,” Grey College captain Andrew Koupis told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We just want to keep going now. We have an early game against Jeppe in the morning on their home turf. It’s going to be tough, but the boys are ready.”
Koupis and his troops entered Nomads brimming with confidence after a good showing at the Synsport Tony Godding Festival a week ago.
There, the Bloemfontein side picked up four wins, but the skipper said he urged his boys to put the past in the past and focus on the job at hand.
“I spoke to the boys coming from Tony Godding and just said we should remain grounded and keep our feet on the turf, and I think that showed today.”
The showdown against Jeppe on Sunday takes place early in the morning at 07:30.
Maritzburg College also started the festival brightly with a win against St Benedict’s and a draw with KES.
In their first match, coach Mark Sanders’ team found the back of the net three times, courtesy of Rory Schirge, Uyanda Dlamini, and Heath Hackland. They also kept a clean sheet.
They played to a 1-1 draw with KES in the day’s final match and take on Wynberg at 13:45 on Sunday, seeking their second win at the festival.
In other matches, Wynberg beat Pretoria Boys High 3-1 while KES thumped Selborne College 5-1.
RESULTS
Jeppe 4-2 Selborne College
Grey College 4-0 Pretoria Boys High
Hilton College 1-0 St John’s College
Maritzburg College 3-0 St Benedict’s College
Jeppe 4-0 Wynberg Boys’ High
King Edward VII 5-1 Selborne College
Hilton College 4-0 St Benedict’s College
Grey College 4-1 St John’s College
Wynberg Boys’ High 3-1 Pretoria Boys High
Maritzburg College 1-1 King Edward VII
FIXTURES
Sunday, 30 March
07:30 – Jeppe vs Grey College
08:45 – St John’s College vs Wynberg Boys’ High
10:00 – Selborne College vs St Benedict’s
11:15 – Hilton College vs Pretoria Boys High
12:30 – King Edward VII vs Grey College
13:45 – Maritzburg College vs Wynberg Boys’ High
15:00 – St John’s College vs Selborne College
16:15 – St Benedict’s vs Pretoria Boys High
17:30 – King Edward VII vs Hilton College
18:45 – Jeppe vs Maritzburg College
