Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College canter to comfortable wins
Michaelhouse was in superb form as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Kearsney College at the Punchbowl Astro, at Michaelhouse, on Friday afternoon.
In the day’s other KZN match, Maritzburg College walloped St Charles College 5-0, at Saints.
Michaelhouse emerged from their big derby against Hilton last week bruised but not battered. In that game, they gave their rivals a good run for their money and the contest finished 1-1.
Despite it being a gruelling encounter, ‘House‘s hunger for victory was undiminished and they satiated that desire with a convincing triumph over Kearsney.
The visitors got the match underway. However, it was Michaelhouse who claimed the early momentum. They denied Kearsney room to manoeuvre and created more goal-scoring opportunities
The home side drew first blood when, after forcing a turnover on the halfway line, a defence-splitting pass put Henry Love through and he grabbed his chance, burying the ball behind Kearsney goalkeeper Thando Marafane.
Coach Nick Bérichon’s charges made life uncomfortable for the Botha’s Hill boys, never allowing them time to settle, and that hard work brought further reward when they doubled their lead just two minutes after their first goal through Gordon Deutscher, who has been in scorching hot form in front of goal. Kearsney was stunned.
“We were so dynamic in attack. It was great to see us start well again after starting the majority of our games very conservatively,” Bérichon told Supersport Schools Plus after the game.
Kearsney did themselves no favours when they made a hash of clearing the ball from their final third after a Michaelhouse excursion into their circle. An overhead went awry and looped to a Michaelhouse player in the Kearsney half, which led to the hosts launching an attack down the left flank. Marafane denied a Michaelhouse shot on goal, but the rebound was gratefully gobbled up by Sithsaba Simukonda, who tucked the ball away to increase his team’s lead.
That hammer blow came just a minute before half-time, leaving Michaelhouse with a healthy 3-0 advantage and half the game to go.
Despite the efforts of both sides, neither was able to score in the second stanza.
Michaelhouse’s victory over Kearsney was their 10th win of the season. It has been an impressive campaign for the Balgowan boys whose win rate after 14 matches is 71 percent. Besides their wins, they’ve drawn two and lost only two.
While Bérichon was happy to allow his players to take the credit, he quietly pointed to others for the team’s successes, including assistant coach, Lwando Saunders, whom he identified as having played an invaluable role in Michaelhouse’s strong season.
In Pietermaritzburg, Maritzburg College romped to an emphatic 5-0 victory over their hosts, St Charles College.
College struck just before the end of the first half’s two chukkas. Their first goal, the result of great passing finished off by a rocket past the St Charles’ goalkeeper, came just three minutes before the end of the opening chukka.
As they did in the first quarter, St Charles fought for the ball with great energy and made enterprising runs into College’s half in the second chukka. Their spirited forays into College’s final third threatened to prise open the visitors’ defence, but the Red Army stood firm.
Instead, it was College who came away with a goal from the chukka. It came from a penalty corner and gave coach Mark Sanders’ charges a 2-0 halftime lead.
In the third chukka, College flipped the script. They broke free of St Charles’s high press and took advantage of the acres of space their opposition offered them by committing bodies up front. Very quickly, they had their third. It came from three accurate passes and the ball was in the back of the net.
A three-goal cushion could have guaranteed victory for College with a little more than a chukka to go in the contest. They, however, put the outcome beyond the reach of Saints when they nailed their fourth goal less than three minutes before the end of the third quarter.
Sanders’ charges underlined their dominance when they converted a penalty corner just over a minute before the final whistle to register their fifth goal.
RESULTS
Michaelhouse 3-0 Kearsney
Maritzburg College 5-0 St Charles College
