Adrenaline soars in knockout stages at Kloof High
The Kloof High School National Football Tournament brings together schools from vastly different backgrounds from across South Africa. But one of the common threads is that many of the country’s top sides are part of the action. Others, lesser known, are out to upset the apple cart.
When those teams come together, upsets and shocking defeats are likely to occur. That’s the nature of the event, which transitions from a group stage competition on day one into a knockout the following day.
Saturday was knockout day, and the casualties included Maritzburg College, who had won all three of their group games. They, however, exited the Cup competition but remain in contention for the Plate.
Cup Knockout
The group matches concluded on Saturday morning, with wins then becoming of utmost importance in the knockouts. Several top teams found their Cup ambitions ended, as sides found themselves playing in the other divisions for either the Plate, the Shield, or the Spoon.
Virginia High School, who beat Maritzburg College 3-1 in 2024’s bronze medal match, and won the ABSA Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament earlier this year, continued to shine on Saturday. They overpowered Umvuzo Secondary School 4-0 in their last 16 match to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Carter High on Sunday.
It’s a highly anticipated meeting of the runners-up of the Mancosa KwaZulu-Natal High Schools Football Association (KZNHSFA) Inland A-League, and the Absa Wildeklawer champs.
Virginia High has been running hot all year long, and, apart from their title-winning success in Kimberley, they’ve been putting on a weekly show in their domestic league, the Magnificent Wednesday Schools Football League.
What adds to the excitement of Sunday’s showdown is the fact that Carter High won 2-1 over their long-standing rival, Maritzburg College, in the last 16.
Games between the Pietermaritzburg schools are almost always hard-fought, but it was an especially gratifying win for Carter, who went down to the Red, Black, and White in the final of the KZN Inland A-League in May.
In other last 16 matches, a former Kloof champion, HTS Louis Botha was pushed to their limits. They, however, scraped a 1-0 victory over Nilgiri Secondary School.
TuksSport High School continued their impressive campaign with a decisive 2-0 victory over Durban High School (DHS), while Vuyiswa Mtolo, who have shown up well in the Kloof tournament in the past, beat New Forest 1-0.
Edendale Tech High School, which earned promotion from the KZNHSFA Inland B-League to the Inland A-League last season and then finished third this season, delivered a dominant performance to advance to the quarterfinals, outplaying Mondeor High 3-0
Pinetown Boys’ High, a dark horse outfit, produced a strong showing to cruise to a 4-0 win over Ashton Ballito. Their reward is a quarterfinal clash against Edendale.
Another team that is on people’s radar is the defending champion, Nqabakazulu, who didn’t concede a goal on their way to the title in 2024, and their defensive record remains unblemished thus far in 2025 after they defeated the hosts, Kloof High School A 4-0 on Saturday.
In the quarterfinals, they face the team they beat 3-0 to win the title last year, HTS Louis Botha. The Bloemfontein boys will need to be on their A-game to challenge the champions.
Plate Knockout
The teams that were eliminated from the last 16 of the Cup competition continued their journey in the Plate playoffs.
Following their elimination from the Cup, Maritzburg College beat another KZN Inland side, Umvuzo Secondary, 2-0. That’s put College into the semi-finals of the Plate.
Nilgiri claimed a narrow 3-2 victory over Kloof High A, while New Forest took down DHS, winning 3-1. Mondeor High was on song, surging to a convincing 5-1 victory over Ashton Ballito.
Those results mean it will be Mondeor against New Forest on Sunday for a place in the Plate final.
Shield Knockout
Alexandra High School, which SuperSport Schools’ commentator Sibonelo Zulu has described as the sleeping giant of KZN Schools football, finished in third place in Group A of the competition.
However, there was a pick-me-up for Alex on Saturday, with a 3-1 win over Durban North College putting them through to the Shield quarters.
Northwood School, who have endured a challenging season, which has included narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the round-robin of the KZNHSFA Coastal A-League, by scoring their first win of the season, a very good 3-0 victory over Pinetown Boys’ High, picked up a 2-1 win over Sarel Cilliers, which put them through to Sunday’s quarterfinals.
In other Shield last 16 matches, Kearsney College scored a 2-1 victory over Linpark, while Amanzimtoti defeated St Henry’s Marist College 1-0.
Reddam House Umhlanga bagged a comfortable 4-1 victory against Kloof High B, while Hilton College ran out 2-0 winners over George Campbell. Birdswood turned on the style to overrun Howick High 5-0.
In a big surprise, the champions of the Mancosa Coastal A-League, Westville Boys’ High, finished only third place in Group F with one win, one draw, and one loss, which put them out of the running for the Cup competition.
That led to an interesting consequence, with Westville meeting Hillcrest High in a repeat of the KZNHSFA Coastal A-League final, which Westville won 4-3 from the penalty spot after a goalless draw. This time, they won emphatically, picking up a 3-0 win.
Spoon Knockout
In the Spoon competition, Sarel Cilliers outplayed Durban North College 5-0 and Linpark matched that scoreline in a big win over St Henry’s. Hillcrest High, also, won 5-0, comfortably dispatching Kloof High B.
The last of the Spoon matches also delivered five goals, this time, though, Howick High edged out George Campbell 3-2.
RESULTS
Saturday 28 June
Group Stages
Group A
Alexandra High School 2-0 Kloof High School B
Group B
Northwood 2-1 Hillcrest
Group C
Kearsney College 3-1 George Campbell
Group D
Mondeor High 1-1 Amanzimtoti
Group E
Kloof High School A 4-2 Durban North College
TuksSport 4-0 Reddam House Umhlanga
Group F
Vuyiswa Mtolo 5-1 Sarel Cilliers
Nilgiri 3-2 Westville
Group G
Pinetown 4-2 Umvuzo Secondary
Hilton College 1-0 Linpark
Group H
St Henry’s 0-0 Howick
Carter High 1-1 Edendale
Cup Knockout
Last 16
Nqabakazulu 4-0 Kloof High School
HTS Louis Botha 1-0 Nilgiri
Carter High 2-1 Maritzburg College
Tuks 2-0 Durban High School
Vuyiswa Mtolo 1-0 New Forest
Virginia High 4-0 Umvuzo Secondary School
Pinetown 4-0 Ashton Ballito
Edendale 3-0 Mondeor High
Shield Knockout
Alexandra High School 3-1 Durban North College
Northwood 2-1 Sarel Cilliers
Kearsney College 2-1 Linpark
Amanzimtoti 1-0 St Henry’s
Reddam House 4-1 Kloof High School B
Westville 3-0 Hillcrest High
Hilton College 2-0 George Campbell
Birdswood 5-0 Howick
Plate Knockout
Nilgiri 3-2 Kloof High School A
Maritzburg College 2-0 Umvuzo Secondary
New Forest 3-1 Durban High School
Mondeor High 5-1 Ashton Ballito
Spoon Knockout
Sarel Cilliers 5-0 Durban North College
Linpark 5-0 St Henry’s
Hillcrest 5-0 Kloof High School B
Howick 3-2 George Campbell
Fixtures: Sunday 29 June
Cup Knockout Quarterfinals
Main Field
07:30 – Tuks vs Vuyiswa Mtolo
08:30 – Nqabakazulu vs HTS Louis Botha
Top A
07:30 Pinetown vs Edendale
08:30 – Virginia High vs Carter High
Plate Knockout
Main Field
10:30 – Nilgiri vs Maritzburg College
Top A
10:30 – New Forest vs Mondeor High
Place 13 – 16
Top B
10:30 – Kloof High School A
Massingham
10:30 – Durban High School vs Ashton Ballito
Shield Knockout Quarterfinals
Top B
07:30 – Reddam House Umhlanga vs Westville
08:30 – Alexandra High School vs Northwood
Massingham
07:30 – Hilton College vs Birdswood
08:30 – Kaersney College vs Amanzimtoti
Spoon Knockout Semifinals
Main Field
09:30 – Sareli Cilliers vs Linpark
Top A
09:30 – Hillcrest High vs Howick
Spoon 29 -32
Top B
09:30 – Durban North College vs St Henry’s
Massingham
09:30 – Kloof High School B vs George Campbell
