Andrews stars for DGC to retain u16 Water Polo tournament in dramatic final
Durban Girls College stalwart Kayla Andrews produced a performance for the ages when she scored two late goals to help her side retain the u16 Water Polo tournament hosted by her school in Sunday’s final against Roedean schools.
The home side, who were paired up in Pool A alongside, Reddam House Constantia, St Mary’s Kloof, Durban Girls High and Oka Valkyries enjoyed a good outing during the weekend winning three of their four pool matches.
In the process, the hosts scored a whipping 27 goals and only lost to Reddam House Constantia, and St Mary’s Kloof respectively.
That set the home side up for play-off matches against Herschel, and another encounter against Reddam House Constantia.
The home team, who would’ve been in high spirits considering their form and the backing of their supporters convincingly won both of those clashes. In their second face-off against Reddam House, they outscored the visitors by six goals to two.
Before that, the defending champions edged Herschel by one goal when they held on for a (5-4), and in the process booked themselves a spot in the final against Roedean, who was also a tough side to beat throughout the weekend.
The final was always going to be a tough encounter between the two giant schools. In last year’s edition, Roedean didn’t participate in the tournament whilst the hosts were looking to go back-to-back.
It was a cagy start, and it showed with both sides finding it hard to score against each other in the pool. Both teams defended well in the early exchanges.
The opening goal of the final came with just over five minutes to play. Roedean managed to get a penalty just outside the home side’s box. Stepped up number nine, Gabriella Morell, and calmly slotted the goal in to take the lead for her side.
The visitors would soon add to their tally when number four, Ambrin Mcewan found herself in a good position and shrugged off one defender to flick the ball in the far corner, leaving the keeper with no chance.
That would be the last time Roedean found the back of the net, as the home side made a remarkable comeback.
With under three minutes to play, Kayla Andrews drew one back for the home side giving them hope, but very little of it. Faith was restored even more when Lara Mervis found herself in a good position to score her side’s second goal, much to the approval of the home crowd.
The miraculous comeback was finished off by Andrews, who scored a penalty for her team after one of the Roedean defenders gave away a silly penalty with just under a minute to go.
The home side held on to the one-goal lead to win the trophy after looking dead and buried late in the second half.
In other matches on the final day, Reddam House Bedfordview defeated Reddam House Umhlanga (4-0) to finish in ninth place.
Rhenish lost (4-2) to St Dominic’s to finish eighth, while wins for Reddam House Constantia, and Herschel saw them end the tournament in third and fourth place respectively.
All the Results:
Pool A:
Day 1:
Oka Valkyries 13, St Mary’s Kloof 0; Reddam House Constantia 9, Durban Girls College 8; Oka Valkyries 9, Durban Girls 0; Durban Girls College 10, Durban Girls High School 2; Reddam House Constantia 9, St Mary’s Kloof 2; Durban Girls College 9, Oka Valkyries 1.
Day 2:
St Mary’s Kloof 3, Durban Girls High School 0; Reddam House Constantia 2, Oka Valkyries 3; Durban Girls College 7, St Mary’s Kloof 1; Reddam House Constantia 13, Durban Girls High School 0.
Pool B:
Day 1:
Reddam Bedfordview 15, Danville 0; Herschel 7, St Dominics 3; Herschel 4, Reddam Bedfordview 3; St Dominics 13, Danville 1.
Day 2:
Herschel 13, Danville 0; St Dominics 5, Reddam Bedfordview 0.
Pool C:
Day 1:
Rhenish 12, Maris Stella 2; St Stithians 11, St Peter’s 2; St Stithians 12, Rhenish 3.
Day 2:
St Peter’s 3, Maris Stella 2; St Stithians 10, Maris Stella 0; St Peter’s 0, Rhenish 4.
Pool D:
Day 1:
Roedean 8, St Annes 4; Reddam House Umhlanga 16, Pietermaritzburg Girls 1; Roedean 11, DSG Makhanda 2; St Annes 15, Pietermaritzburg Girls 0; Reddam House Umhlanga 9, DSG Makhanda 2.
Day 2: DSG Makhanda 11, Pietermaritzburg Girls 1; Roedean 5, Reddam House Umhlanga 1; St Annes 12, DSG Makhanda 2; Roedean 12, Pietermaritzburg Girls 0; St Annes 4, Reddam House Umhlanga 2.
Play-offs:
Durban Girls High School 5, Danville 4; Maris Stella 8, Pietermaritzburg Girls 4; St Dominics 4, Oka Valkyries 3; Reddam House Constantia 6, Reddam House Bedfordview 3; Rhenish 4, Reddam House Umhlanga 1; St Annes 10, St Peters 2; DSG Makhanda 6, St Marys 0; Maris Stella 5, Durban Girls High School 3; Durban Girls College 6, Reddam House Constantia 2; Herschel 10, St Dominics 3; St Stithians 5, St Annes 4; Roedean 8, Rhenish 4, Reddam House Bedfordview 7, Oka Valkyries 1; Reddam House Umhlanga 8, St Peters 1; Reddam House Constantia 5, St Dominics 1; St Annes 7, Rhenish 4; Durban Girls College 5, Herschel 4; Roedean 5, St Stithians 4; Danville 5, Pietermaritzburg Girls 3; St Marys 5, Durban Girls High School 1; DSG Makhanda 6, Maris Stella 1; Oka Valkyries 4, St Peters 3; Reddam House Bedfordview 4, Reddam House Umhlanga 0; St Dominics 4, Rhenish 2; Reddam House Constantia 5, St Annes 4; Herschel 7, St Stithians 6; Roedean 2, Durban Girls College 3.
Top 10 standings:
Durban Girls College, Roedean, St Stithians, Herschel, Reddam House Constantia, St Anne’s College, St Dominics, Rhenish, Reddam House Bedfordview, Reddam House Umhlanga.
