Central Gauteng girls shrug off Buffalo City in winning start to title defence
The Central Gauteng u19A girls’ recorded their first victory at the Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in East London, defeating Buffalo City 9-4 on Saturday, the opening day of the tournament.
The defending champions were far from their best in the Joan Harrison West Swimming Pool but managed to get the job done in the final two chukkas of the match. They were challenged by a motivated Buffalo City side, which was boosted by the support of the home crowd.
The opening chukka was thrilling, and both teams threw the kitchen sink at the other in the early going.
Tori Voke opened the scoring for Buffalo City, much to the delight of the locals, but Tori Tanner-Ellis equalised for Gauteng against the run of play at the other end of the pool.
Emily Carle made it two for coach Kelsey Thomson‘s charges before Voke struck again to level matters.
Under pressure, the hosts defended bravely in the latter part of the first chukka, with Erin Batting and Meka Loots leading the way and pulling off crucial blocks, while goalkeeper Rania Khan remained firm at the back.
In the second chukka, however, Gauteng started to find their groove and they opened up a gap by scoring three goals to one in the quarter.
Tanner-Ellis and Emma Pelicot imposed themselves on the match while Julianna Saffy kept Buffalo City’s hopes alive with a cracker of a goal.
Saffy’s strike was, however, cancelled out by the dangerous Amy Smith, who fired in from five metres out to take her team into a 5-3 lead at halftime.
The third chukka was a low-scoring affair, but Gauteng continued to build confidence and add goals to the scoreboard.
They were more fluid, they played better as a unit, and their swift movement of the ball resulted in goals by Courtney Calenborne and Francesca De Villiers.
Buffalo City stubbornly resisted, but their efforts were in vain as they squandered several opportunities in the fourth quarter.
That opened the door for Mia Loizides and Julia Joseph to add to Central Gauteng’s tally, which secured a hard-fought victory for the defending champions.
It was a grind for Gauteng to get by the local side, but it was also the kind of testing opening match that should stand them in good stead ahead of their heavyweight clash with Western Province A on day two.
In other matches on the opening day, Central Gauteng B got their campaign off to a rollicking start with a whopping 22-5 win over Buffalo City B.
It was a dominant performance by coach Wade Brand’s team from the first to the final whistle.
Amy Stubbs was at the forefront of their attack and scored six times. Every member of the Gauteng team also got onto the scoresheet, which underlined their dominance of the game.
The final match of the day was between Eastern Gauteng and Zimbabwe.
Eastern Gauteng’s Caitlin Scrimgeour stole the show, netting seven times to help her side to a 10-5 win.
RESULTS
Scores
Central Gauteng B 22: Amy Stubbs (6), Holly Franks (3), Aimee Hatting (2), Cecilia Petersen (2), Kiara Cronje (2), Emily Townshend (2), Simphiwe Zulu (2), India-Rose Cope, Rachel Rostron, Taylor Billett. Buffalo City B 5: Caroline Kretzmann (3) Chuma Magobongo, Cami de Villiers.
Central Gauteng A 9: Tori Tanner-Ellis (2), Emily Carle, Emma Pelicot, Amy Smith, Courtney Calenborne, Francesca De Villiers, Mia Loizides, Julia Joseph. Buffalo City A 4: Tori Voke (3), Julianna Saffy.
Eastern Gauteng 10: Caitlin Scrimgeour (7), Erin Blackburn (2), Maddison Griffin. Zimbabwe 5: Danike Swan (2), Emily Taylor, Taya Smyth, Tayleigh Taylor.
Day 2 Fixtures
07:00 – Western Province B vs Buffalo City B
08:05 – Nelson Mandela A vs Western Province A
09:10 – Eastern Gauteng vs Central Gauteng B
10:15 – Northerns vs Zimbabwe
11:20 – Buffalo City A vs KwaZulu-Natal
12:25 – Eastern Gauteng vs Western Province B
13:30 – Western Province A vs Central Gauteng A
14:35 – Zimbabwe vs Central Gauteng B
15:40 – Northerns vs Buffalo City B
16:45 – Nelson Mandela Bay vs KwaZulu-Natal
17:50 – Zimbabwe vs Western Province B
