SuperSport Schools Plus

After Jeppe win, KES raring to go against Maritzburg College

By Vuyo Ndudane , in Hockey | Featured Hockey | News , at 2024-07-26 Tags: , , ,

With the hockey season nearing its conclusion, King Edward VII School (KES) scored a significant win when they beat Jeppe High School for Boys last weekend.

A come-from-behind 3-2 victory for KES was their first over Jeppe in 13 years.

However, it looked as if it would be business as usual when Jeppe struck from a penalty corner to take the lead. KES, though, responded with a field goal from Tiago Diaz.

Coach Siya Sityana‘s Jeppe side snatched the lead once more, with a brilliant counterattack breaking the tie. Their celebrations were short-lived, however, with the Red Sticks’ captain Fynn Campbell equalising for the hosts.

Then, with only three minutes left on the clock, Ben Simon fired a drag flick into the back of the Jeppe goalbox to secure a morale-boosting over the Aitken Cup champions.

“Jeppe has been the benchmark for boys’ field hockey in Johannesburg for several years and the boys from both schools love the match-up. It’s an opportunity to measure themselves against the best Johannesburg has to offer,” said KES coach Shamin Naidoo.

“I have my performance measures as a coach. It’s a bit early to worry too much about results at this stage in our programme, but winning a Saturday schoolboy derby always brings a special feeling, no matter who you play.”

Naidoo said a tough 2-3 loss to Jeppe in the first meeting between the teams earlier in the season delivered important lessons, which helped them to victory the second time around.

“We did pick up a few tactical opportunities from our fixture at Jeppe earlier in the year. We have also explored a few different shapes of our own and we looked to focus more on our game rather than trying to outwit them this time.

“We wanted to make sure our PC defence was rock solid, and we wanted to win as many PCs as possible to give our flickers a chance.

“The game was superb overall and a top-class advertisement for boys’ school sport. Either team could have won it. We just got the luck of the roll this time,” he said.

KES hosts Maritzburg College this weekend, 27 July, in the last of their annual winter fixtures. College heads into the match having beaten Pretoria Boys High 2-1 in Pretoria last week, which was preceded by a 1-1 draw with Affies in Pietermaritzburg a week earlier.

“The boys are looking forward to another good contest,” Naidoo said.

“We had a good week of training ahead of the College fixture. College has been a top hockey school in SA for the last two decades, so we are looking forward to ending our season against another top boys’ school.

“The win against Jeppe has certainly brought some belief and confidence to the boys. They just need to stay grounded and enjoy their last fixture of the season,” Naidoo told SuperSport Schools Plus.

Vuyo Ndudane
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.