All square as Paul Roos vs SACS decider ends in a stalemate
There was nothing to separate Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) and South African College High School (SACS) as the two South African schoolboy hockey giants played to a 2-2 draw in their final meeting of the season on the Maties Astroturf in Stellenbosch on Wednesday night.
In what many viewed as the game of the season, a low conversion rate of goalscoring opportunities, ill-discipline, and moments of inconsistency, cost both teams a chance at victory.
It was a third meeting of the schools this season.
In their first game, in the Hibbert Shield final in Gqeberha, Paul Roos won 6-5 on sudden death penalties after the match ended level at 3-3. SACS exacted revenge a week later, thumping them 6-2 to tie the season’s series at 1-1.
On Wednesday evening, in front of a packed crowd at Maties, with hundreds of maroon blazers in attendance, each and every call that went the host’s way was greeted with cheers. Out on the field. the Paul Roos players responded positively, and the first chukka belonged to them.
They came out firing, full of energy, and when they were awarded a first penalty corner an electric thrill moved among their supporters, with many feeling that it would be converted. It was.
It was PRG’s dangerman, Reuben Sendzul, who opened their account, with a savage drag flick earning his side an early advantage.
SACS, after that goal, were awarded a PC of their own, but Reece Theunis‘ shot was wide of the mark.
In the early going, though, the side from Newlands appeared to be a little off their game. Their skipper Stephan Meyer looked good in the middle of the park, but their attack was tame, go forward ball was almost non-existent, and nothing seemed to click.
That changed, however, in the second chukka when the visitors pulled one back through a Regan Wille deflection off of a penalty corner variation.
Just before that goal, PRG’s Louan Van Zyl was shown his marching orders after a sharp exchange of words with an umpire, which left the home side a man down for the majority of the match.
An even battle raged on in the third chukka, with possession regularly being overturned.
A lack of discipline cost SACS their one-man advantage for a while as Theunis was shown a green card. It remained 1-1 at the teams started the fourth chukka.
Then, with only three minutes to play, it seemed that the visitors would steal a win when they went ahead. A strike from Aidan Hughes found the stick of PRG’s Keith Siebrits and the ball deflected into the back of the net to put SACS ahead for a first time in the contest.
Paul Roos has, however, demonstrated on a number of occasions during the season that they may be down, but they are never out. A minute later, they levelled through Joshua Smit. It was his second goal against SACS this season. He had scored when they met in May.
There was no more time for either team to find a winner and the home side, despite playing with a man down for the majority of the encounter, held on for a 2-2 draw.
Reflecting on the match afterwards, PRG head coach, Michael Baker lamented his side’s ill-discipline, which cost them an opportunity to fully execute their plans.
“The red card changed the game,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“Discipline let us down. It’s something we spoke about the whole week, and when you get a red card against SACS, it’s always going to be difficult.
“We also got a yellow card, and that’s when they scored their second goal, so it’s hard to play against a top team with a player down.”
The match was coach Baker’s third against SACS since he joined the Stellenbosch school at the start of the year. It’s a fixture his players relish and Baker believes the rivalry deserves all the hype it gets
“I will be honest, SACS are the best team in the country, and I want to be coaching the best team in the country, so as long as they’re the best, we want to beat them,” he said.
“We’ll make the game as big as it is and, from a neutral point of view, if the number one team plays against number two, then everyone will be drawn to that game.”
SACS’ coach Sam Holmes declared himself pleased with the hockey his side played, despite not connecting well at times.
“We went 0-1 down, but this team is no stranger to being a goal down, and the boys came out nicely with a beautiful equaliser,” he said.
“Paul Roos at Maties is a very hard fixture. I’ve been part of teams that come here, club teams, and u16s, and it’s always tough, and the first chukka always seems like a bit of a throw-away.
“All in all, I thought we played some nice hockey, but the times where we connected were too few and far between.”
Commenting on the intense rivalry between the sides, he said: “Yes, SACS versus Paul Roos is everything now. We’ve played them three times. It’s a massive fixture, and I think with every rivalry each team gets better.
“It’s a fantastic fixture for the boys and the schools, and ultimately it just leads to better teams, as a whole.”
Both sides will be in action on Friday again, with PRG taking on Stellenberg away from home at 19:45, while SACS will visit Reddam Constantia for a match that starts at 19:15.
Other matches
In other mid-week encounters, Cape Town International Hockey Tournament champions, Paarl Gimnasium, after going down 2-4 to Wynberg last weekend, redeemed themselves with a 2-1 win over Bishops Diocesan College in Paarl.
Coach Jacques Grobler’s side benefitted from two PC drag flick goals from Stephan Pieterse.
On Tuesday, Somerset College defeated DF Malan 3-2.
Action in the Western Cape resumes this weekend. You can catch it LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
