Bishops seek sharp finishing against Fairmont
Bishops Diocesan College will set their sights on a return to winning ways when they travel to take on Fairmont High School in a Western Cape League fixture on Friday night in Cape Town.
The southern suburbs’ side will enter the clash on the back of a hard-fought 1-1 draw against South African College High School (SACS) on Wednesday.
Before the clash, Bishops participated in the Hibbert Shield, hosted by Grey High School in Gqeberha last weekend.
There, they finished in joint fifth with Durban High School after they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing to Pretoria’s Hoërskool Garsfontein 0-1.
However, in the mid-week match at the Brewery Astroturf, coach Ryan Julius‘s men looked like a rejuvenated outfit and caused SACS several problems with their attacking prowess.
The match was tightly contested, with very little to separate the teams in the opening half, as they went into the break level at 0-0.
The hosts scored first in the third chukka, through Litha Kraai, but Bishops responded late in the chukka with a goal from youngster, David Handley.
It was blow-for-blow in the final chukka, but neither side capitalised on the opportunities they created, and the spoils were shared.
“It was a heated game, very good tactical approach from both teams,” Julius told SuperSport Schools after the match.
“From a Bishops perspective, we started a bit shakily, but we were able to find rhythm.
“When we went down 0-1, I think we showed good fight and character to come back under pressure, and we found a goal through Handley from open play.
“We had a lot of short corners, and there were a lot of chances on both sides to edge ahead in the game, but we couldn’t convert.”
Turning his sights to the forthcoming league action on Friday night, Julius said Bishops would need to work on a part of their game that had been lacking this season, and that’s converting the opportunities they create.
At the Hibbert Shield, Julius’s side scored only nine goals in their five matches. Against SACS, they created several chances, but converted only one.
“Tactically, we were on point, and displayed a good brand of Bishops’ hockey,” Julius said.
“One thing we’re missing is that we need to take our chances. We are creating a lot, and we need to bury those chances, and if we’re not able to, it’ll end up catching up to us.”
On Friday evening, Bishops comes up against a side that has picked up some impressive results over the past two weeks.
Coach Bryce West‘s team last weekend defeated DF Malan 3-0 and shared a thrilling 3-3 draw with Somerset College.
If Fairmont were to win, it would be considered a major upset, but they’ll have the backing of their home crowd for the match, which starts at 19:30.
- Bishops chasing consistency in 2025 - 2025-02-18
- Top four strongly represented in Vides Team of the Tournament - 2025-02-17
- DAY 3 | VIDES | St David’s outshines St Andrew’s to win title - 2025-02-16
