Eastern Province extends dominance as Boland and KZN Coastal also shine
The second day of the u16 Girls’ SASHOC National Week saw Eastern Province A (EP) continue to build on their strong opening day showing.
After posting two wins Tuesday, while scoring 10 goals and conceding only one, Eastern Province A further extended their dominance in Pool A with a commanding 5–1 win over Southern Free State A.
EP’s attack flowed with almost effortless ease, resulting in goals from Jade Grobler, Chanelle Venter, Iminathi Rungqu, and a superb double from Lucy Holderness.
Their forward play was swift and clinical, and it overwhelmed the Free State defence. Despite a well-taken consolation goal from Marichelle Crous, the Free Staters simply had no answer for the defending champion’s pressure and accurate finishing.
Western Province A, after a draw with Southern Free State in their opener, bagged a 2-1 win over Southern Gauteng A in a tightly contested match.
In another Pool A match, Southern Gauteng B, after a 1-1 draw with Southern Gauteng A and a 1-5 hammering from Eastern Province on Tuesday, bounced back from that big loss to claim a narrow 1-0 win over Eastern Gauteng, with Caitlyn McLean scoring the match-winner.
In Pool B, Boland A continued their push for a semi-final place by picking up two wins. In their first outing, they overcame KZN Coastal B 2–0 and followed up with a 3-1 victory over Northern Gauteng A
Alanda Rademeyer was the star of their win over Northerns, netting twice, while Frankie Henn added a third. Daniella Grobbelaar replied for Northerns.
KZN Coastal A was also impressive. In a KZN derby, they edged past KZN Inland A, with a goal from Asanele Zuma securing Coastal a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Zuma was also on the scoresheet in the afternoon in Coastal’s 4-2 victory over Boland B. Charley-Rose Boyall, Buntu Msweli, and Chelsey Wolf also struck for the KZN team, while Maria Hamman and Zahra Twigg scored for Boland B.
Northern Gauteng A, beaten by Boland A in the afternoon, went one for two on the day, edging out Boland B 1-0 in their other outing.
Eastern Province A is setting the pace in Pool A, with a maximum haul of points, and their high-scoring attack, which has generated more goals than any other team in the tournament.
While EP leads the way in Pool A, in Pool B, KZN Coastal A and Boland A occupy the top two spots, with Northerns not far behind. It looks like a three-horse race for two semi-final places.
DAY 2 RESULTS
POOL A
Western Province A 2: Sally Gitlin, Heather Kane. Southern Gauteng A 1: Teegan Aronson.
Southern Free State A 1: Marichelle Crous. Eastern Province A 5: Jade Grobler, Lucy Holderness (2), Chanelle Venter, Iminathi Rungqu.
Southern Gauteng B 1: Caitlyn Mclean. Eastern Gauteng A 0.
POOL B
Northern Gauteng A 1: Lenique Vogel. Boland B 0.
Boland A 2: Alanda Rademeyer, Zoe Jacobs. KZN Coastal B 0.
KZN Coastal A 1: Asanele Zuma. KZN Inland A 0.
Boland B 2: Maria Hamman, Zahra Twigg. KZN Coastal A 4: Charley-Rose Boyall, Buntu Msweli, Chelsey Wolf, Asanele Zuma.
Boland A 3: Alanda Rademeyer (2), Frankie Henn. Northern Gauteng A 1: Daniella Grobbelaar.
