All to play for at Challengers’ Cup as teams hunt playoff spots
Only five teams maintained their unbeaten records on Friday, day two of the Challengers’ Cup,
The event is being played on the AstroTurfs of La Rochelle Girls’ High and Paarl Girls’ High and runs through until Sunday.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
After making winning starts on the opening day, Pool A’s St Mary’s Waverley and Hoërskool Garsfontein met on Friday morning and played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Coach Cindy Brown’s St Mary’s side was dominant and scored early through Kyla Grobbelaar. Erin Krüger doubled their lead in the 28th minute, but the Garsies was not going down without a fight.
They clawed their way back into the fixture with two late goals, scored by Emma Van Rooyen and Erné Kotze, to snatch a dramatic draw and make matters in Pool A very interesting.
Later in the day, St Mary’s defeated Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0, thanks to a Zara Colyn strike, while Garsfontein was held to a 1-1 draw by Fairmont High.
Fairmont played some good hockey on day two and will fancy their chances of sneaking into the last four. They’re currently in third place, behind Garsfontein and St Mary’s, with five points and one group fixture remaining.
Coach Wayne Coetzee’s Parel Vallei side occupies fourth place, followed by Springfield Convent School and St Cyprian’s School, who are still in search of their first win at the tournament.
Pool B is also tight, with Herschel Girls School and Pretoria’s Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Affies) setting the pace with seven points each after recording two wins and a draw in their three matches.
On Friday, Affies was held to a goalless draw by Paarl Girls’ High. Later on, Mikela Harmse notched a brace in a hard-fought 2-0 win over Hoërskool Outeniqua.
Herschel, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Hoërskool Outeniqua and defeated Durban Girls’ College (DGC) 2-1, with Georgia Nicklin and Teagan Williamson getting their names onto the scoresheet in that win.
The Pool B leaders square off on Saturday at 10:00.
Heading into day three, Paarl Girls’ High and Outeniqua lie third and fourth respectively in the Pool B standings, with four points each after three matches.
Their chances of making the semifinals are slim, but they’ll know that anything’s possible in tournament hockey, and things can change quickly.
Outeniqua takes on Springfield and DGC on day three, while Paarl Girls’ High tackles Herschel and DGC.
The action starts at 08:00, and all the matches will be streamed live on the SuperSport Schools App.
Day 2 | Results and scorers
Pool A
Garsfontein 2: (Emma Van Rooyen, Erné Kotze). St Mary’s Waverley 2: (Kyla Grobbelaar, Erin Krüger).
Fairmont 0-0 St Cyprian’s School
Fairmont 1: (Madison Ackerman). Garsfontein 1: (Andrea Groenewald).
Parel Vallei 0-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
St Mary’s Waverley 1: (Zara Colyn). Rustenburg Girls’ High 0.
Parel Vallei 4: (Elrie Pienaar, Nikita Sulivan, Emihle Wulana, Liné Liebenberg). St Cyprian’s 2: (Carolyn Lord, Emily Brink).
Pool B
Durban Girls’ College 1: (Mary Aylward). Springfield 0.
Outeniqua 1: (Mia Buxman). Herschel 1: (Heather Kane).
Parel Vallei 0-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
Paarl Girls’ High 0-0 Affies
Herschel 2: (Georgia Nicklin, Teagan Williamson). Durban Girls’ College 1: (Caprice Bengtson).
Affies 2: (Mikela Harmse 2). Outeniqua 0.
Paarl Girls’ High 1: (Lucia Marcus). Springfield 0.
Day 3 | Fixtures
@La Rochelle
08:00 – Outeniqua vs Springfield; 09:00 – Durban Girls’ College vs Paarl Girls’ High; 10:00 – Herschel vs Affies; 12:00 – Outeniqua vs Durban Girls’ College; 13:00 – Springfield vs Affies; 14:00 – Paarl Girls’ High vs Herschel.
@Paarl Girls’ High
08:00 – St Cyprian’s vs Rustenburg Girls’; 09:00 – Parel Vallei vs Garsfontein; 10:00 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Fairmont; 12:00 – Rustenburg Girls’ High vs Garsfontein; 13:00 – St Mary’s Waverley vs St Cyprian’s; 14:00 – Fairmont vs Parel Vallei.
