Blatch inspires Saints to victory over Hilton
The opening day of the Standard Bank St Stithians College Easter Hockey Festival in Johannesburg was clouded by stoppages, delays, and uncertainty, because of the weather.
Only two matches were fully completed on Wednesday because of the threat of lightning, which resulted in three matches being cut short.
Early in the day, St David’s Marist Inanda and Die Hoërskool Menlopark played out a 1-1 draw before St Andrew’s College defeated St Benedict’s College 1-0, courtesy of a Daniel Meihuizen goal.
Reddam House Constantia picked up a 1-0 victory over Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies), thanks to their skipper, Joe Gitlin, who scored a wonderful solo goal in a game that went on for only one chukka.
The heavens cleared after that clash, just in time for the Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) vs Clifton College meeting.
PBHS was made to work hard for victory, but they pulled off a nervy 1-0 triumph after a Mwela Mutale goal.
Finally, the conditions cleared for the night clash between Hilton College and St Stithians and it turned out to be a cracker.
The hosts were on fire from the start and dominated possession in the early going. Their pressure was rewarded in the second chukka when Aidan Blatch found the back of the net.
It appeared as if the home side would head into the break leading 1-0 until a moment of magic from Reagan Mudau delivered the ball into the circle, and a touch by Tino Hove forced it into the back of the net for the equaliser.
Fireworks went off in the third chukka, and Saints, once again, started brightly.
They made it 2-1 after a Dylan Burger strike, which came after good work by young defender Jason Joiner. Soon after that goal, Blatch struck again, this time a well-placed drag flick made it 3-1.
Hilton was not going down without a fight and, with three minutes to play, they cut the deficit to one through Hove, who created space before slotting his second of the day.
Leading 3-2 heading into the final chukka, the hosts were dealt a blow when Rob Burman struck with a PC drag flick to level matters.
The score was deadlocked for only a minute, though, before Saints regained the lead through Blatch.
They earned a short corner and opted for route one, going straight to Blatch, who made no mistake and deposited the ball past Kayson Holtzhausen for his hat-trick.
Hilton pushed hard for a late equaliser, but they were kept out and Saints recorded a memorable win in front of their supporters.
RESULTS
St David’s Marist Inanda 1-1 Die Hoërskool Menlopark
Reddam House Constantia 1-0 Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
St Andrew’s College 1-0 St Benedict’s College
Pretoria Boys High 1-0 Clifton College
St Stithians College 4-3 Hilton College
FIXTURES
Thursday, 17 April
08:30 – Pretoria Boys High vs Reddam House Constantia; 08:45 – St Stithians College Festival Team vs St Benedict’s College; 10:00 – Hilton College vs St David’s Marist Inanda; 11:00 – St Andrew’s College vs Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool; 12:00 – St Stithians College vs Clifton College; 13:15 – Reddam House Constantia vs Die Hoërskool Menlopark 15:15 – Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool vs St Benedict’s College; 16:45 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Clifton College; 17:45 – Pretoria Boys High vs St Andrew’s College; 19:00 – Hilton College vs Die Hoërskool Menlopark.
