Paarl Gim leads Pool B, Stellenberg atop Pool C at Girls Challenge
Paarl Gimnasium put on a good show in front of their home crowd, with back-to-back wins propelling them to the summit of Pool B, while Stellenberg recorded a win and a draw on their way to the top of Pool C on Thursday, the first day of the Belgotex Sport Girls Hockey Challenge.
Those results leave Paarl Gim and Stellenberg in healthy positions to advance to the next stage of the 20-team tournament. The competition continues through until Saturday, 3 May.
In their two matches, Paarl Gim beat St Mary’s Waverley 2-0 and Springfield Convent School 3-1.
“We were pressing really well in both games, putting the other teams under a lot of pressure and then creating good opportunities from the turnover,” Danelle Van Zyl, the Paarl Gim coach, told Supersport Schools Plus.
The hosts’ supporters had to wait until seconds before the halftime break to celebrate the first of the five goals Gim scored on Thursday as Van Zyl’s charges found St Mary’s Waverley to be a tricky opponent in their opening encounter.
With mere seconds remaining in the opening stanza, the home team Izelle Fourie converted a short corner for a morale-boosting halftime lead.
The third chukka looked a lot like the opening half, with the score remaining static. However, as they did in the first half, Paarl Gim grabbed a second goal, this time a minute before the end, also from a penalty corner, thanks to Alanda Rademeyer.
Rademeyer was again on the scoresheet in the hosts’ second match, along with Karea de Ridder and Marili Walters.
Unlike in the first match where they kept fans waiting for a breakthrough, Paarl Gim had their supporters on their feet early when they converted a long corner eight minutes into the game. Before the end of the quarter, they had doubled.
Springfield kept things interesting when they pulled one back through Mackenzie Cathcart-Gates, who struck from a goal-mouth scramble off a short corner six minutes into the final chukka. That goal gave Springfield hope for a dramatic comeback, but, with two minutes remaining, Gim fired in their third goal to drive the final nail into the coffin.
Stellenberg scored five goals across their two matches and conceded one, on their way to the summit of Pool C. They romped to a 4-0 win over Somerset College in their first match and were then held to a 1-1 draw by second-placed Pearson.
Bea van den Berg led the scoring for Stellenberg with a brace against Somerset, while Juane Meiring and Ilke van der Merwe added a goal each.
Stellenberg kept the Somerset College goalkeeper busy in the first chukka by creating several chances, but they had to wait until the second chukka to be rewarded for their attacking forays. Their first came from a short corner eight minutes in, and their second doubled their advantage two minutes later.
Even though they had a two-goal cushion, Stellenberg did not rest on their laurels in the second half. They peppered the Somerset College goal with more attempts and added two more goals to complete a comfortable victory.
In their clash with Pearson, Juane Meiring fired a rocket into the right corner to give her side the lead eight minutes in. Pearson found an equaliser, thanks to Kiyara Constable, early in the second chukka.
On Friday, Pool C action continues with Pearson facing Somerset College at 08:00. Springfield takes on St Mary’s Waverley in the first Pool B match of the day, at 10:00.
RESULTS
Pool A
Oranje 1-1 Durban Girls’ College
Herschel 11-0 Cornwall Hill
Oranje 8-0 Cornwall Hill
Herschel 1-0 Durban Girls’ College
Pool B
Fairmont 0-0 Springfield
Paarl Gim 2-0 St Mary’s Waverley
Fairmont 1-1 St Mary’s Waverley
Paarl Gim 3-1 Springfield
Pool C
Stellenberg 4-0 Somerset College
Pearson 2-1 Waterkloof
Waterkloof 3-1 Somerset College
Pearson 1-1 Stellenberg
Pool D
Reddam Constantia 2-0 St Stithians
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 2-0 St Cyprian’s
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 3-1 Reddam Constantia
St Cyprian’s 2-0 St Stithians
Pool E
Rustenburg 2-1 Garsfontein
Collegiate 3-2 Durbanville
Collegiate 1-0 Rustenburg
Garsfontein 1-0 Durbanville
