Affies and Paarl Gim light up Friday night with brilliant hockey action
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) came back from a goal down to register a comfortable 3-1 win over Paarl Gimnasium boys on the AHMP Astro at Affies on Friday night.
Earlier in the day, Paarl Gim’s girls’ team outplayed Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Affies Meisies) 4-1.
“The boys are starting to play like a team of individuals who care, trust, and believe in one another,” Colin Mendoza, the Affies boys’ coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
Paarl Gim, who had gone toe for toe with the hosts in the first chukka, silenced the home crowd with a goal in the second chukka, and the Witstokke’s efforts to reply were met by solid defence from the touring side.
However, Affies was not going to be denied the equaliser they were relentlessly hunting. With only seconds remaining in the first half, they jolted the home crowd to life when they made it 1-1.
After the halftime break, they returned to the turf revitalised and played with more intent, launching wave after wave of attacks on the Paarl Gim goal. Wium van Niekerk, Kean Cornelissen, and Rudolf Thiart were in the thick of the action, winning duels in the middle of the park, which provided the impetus for the Witstokke’s drives into the Paarl Gim final third.
That sustained pressure earned them two goals in the third chukka. Both Coenelissen and Thiart scored, while Ruahard Nienaber also made it onto the scoresheet.
The victory was a satisfying way for the Pretoria school to close out the day, especially after their counterparts, Affies Meisies, had succumbed to a loss to the Paarl Gim girls.
Coach Danelle van Zyl’s charges arrived in Pretoria with the intention of maintaining a strong run of results. The ladies from Boland began their season with an unbeaten run of seven wins and one draw in a festival that featured Cape Town schools before finishing fifth at the St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival.
On Friday night, though, they struggled to impose themselves on Affies in the first half. Van Zyl’s charges found their stride in the third chukka, however. Their passing game functioned smoothly, and they enjoyed the better of the one-on-one duels.
Those improvements helped to lift Gimmies to a convincing victory by a three-goal margin. Ghita Husselman led the scoring with a brace, while Imka Koegelenberg and Anya Swanepoel contributed a goal each.
Results
Affies 3-1 Paarl Gim
Paarl Gim 4-1 Affies Meisies
