Champions face must-win eliminator at Clifton Water Polo Tournament
One of the most consequential results of the Clifton Water Polo Tournament came early on Thursday morning when Michaelhouse upset the two-time defending champion, SACS, 9-6 in a Pool D clash.
SACS weren’t at their best, but a team plays as well as their opposition allows them to play, and Michaelhouse recorded a clear-cut victory.
The importance of that result was underlined when, later in the day, Hilton College edged out SACS 10-9 to complete an unbeaten run through the group.
When Michaelhouse held on for a 10-8 win over King Edward VII (KES) in their second game of the day, SACS was relegated to third place in the group.
That leaves them to play a must-win clash against their Western Cape rivals, Paul Roos, on Friday morning. If they lose, they’re out of the running.
Hilton progressed to the quarterfinals with a clean record, having also beaten Michaelhouse 14-8 on day one. ‘House, though, with two wins on Thursday, joined their arch-rivals in the last eight.
If Hilton coach Paul Martin has any concern, it might be that his charges have surrendered an average of nine goals in each of their games, but, then again, they’ve had little trouble putting the ball in the back of the net. They possess some phenomenal attacking weapons.
The hosts, Clifton College, continued their impressive form in Pool A. While they were not as free scoring as Hilton, their defence was rock-solid.
They beat Reddam House Constantia 8-4 in a key clash and looked well organised and confident in that victory. Clifton, then, followed up with a 7-4 win over a dangerous Selborne College team. They also surrendered only four goals on the opening day when they hammered Maritzburg College 21-4.
Goalkeeper Caleb Malumbete, who was one of three Clifton boys included in the KZN Schools u19 team, joining Jamie Nicolau and Nathan Burger, was superb in goal and well supported by his side’s energetic defence.
Nabil Beija, in grade 10, and a member of the KZN Schools u16A side, also sparkled up front.
Selborne claimed a crucial 10-9 win over Reddam on the opening day, and then beat Maritzburg College 11-8 on Thursday, which put them through to the quarters with Clifton.
Reddam and Maritzburg College met in the final game on Thursday evening, with the Capetonians claiming a 19-11 win. College, though, will be encouraged by their competitive performances after being swept aside by Clifton the previous day.
In Pool B, Kearsney College edged out Northwood 12-11 on Wednesday in their opener. They lifted their game on Thursday, overpowering Grey College 14-0 before handing Paul Roos a 13-10 defeat.
They’re a dangerous team loaded with quality, and, like Clifton, they feature three KZN u19 players – Oliver Ludwig, Thomas Francke, and Thomas Aylward – as well as James Pohl, who made SA Schools last year but was unavailable for selection for the Schools Water Polo South Africa Interprovincial Week this time around.
In the group’s key game, Paul Roos topped Northwood, scoring a narrow 10-9 victory to join Kearsney in the Cup quarterfinals. That’s a tough pill to swallow for the Knights, who twice lost by a single point, but it is very clear that their water polo programme is on the up and they’re a team to be reckoned with.
Pool C proved to be the most tightly contested. While St John’s College went undefeated, they were extended. Still, last year’s runner-up produced a 6-5 win over Affies on the opening day, then beat Durban High School (DHS) 10-7, and Westville Boys’ High 11-10.
The battle for second place was tight, with Affies beating Westville 8-6, Westville beating DHS 9-8, and DHS beating Affies 10-9. That meant that the runner-up would be decided on goal difference. By the slimmest of margins, Affies joined St John’s in the quarterfinals.
RESULTS
Pool A
Clifton 8-4 Reddam House Constantia
Selborne 11-8 Maritzburg College
Clifton 7-4 Selborne
Reddam House Constantia 19-11 Maritzburg College
Pool B
Kearsney 14-0 Grey College
Paul Roos 10-9 Northwood
Kearsney 13-10 Paul Roos
Northwood 12-3 Grey College
Pool C
St John’s 10-7 DHS
Affies 8-6 Westville
St John’s 11-10 Westville
DHS 10-9 Affies
Pool D
Hilton 16-11 KES
Michaelhouse 9-6 SACS
Hilton 10-9 SACS
Michaelhouse 10-8 KES
FIXTURES
Game 25 – 08:00 – Selborne (2nd A) vs Westville (3rd C)
Game 26 – 09:00 – Paul Roos (2nd B) vs SACS (3rd D)
Game 27 – 10:00 – Reddam Constantia (3rdA) vs Affies (2nd C)
Game 28 – 11:00 – Northwood (3rd B) vs Michaelhouse (2nd D)
Game 29 – 13:00 – Loser 25 vs KES (4th D)
Game 30 – 14:00 – Loser 26 – Maritzburg College (4th A)
Game 31 – 15:00 – Loser 27 – Grey College (4th B)
Game 32 – 16:00 – Loser 28 – DHS (4th C)
18:00 – Parents Social Evening
Saturday, 27 September
Game 33 – 07:00 – QF1 – Hilton (1st D) vs Winner 27
Game 34 – 08:00 – QF2 – St John’s (1st C) vs Winner 28
Game 35 – 09:00 – QF3 – Kearsney (1st B) vs Winner 25
Game 36 – 10:00 – QF4 – Clifton (1st A) vs Winner 26
Game 37 – 11:00 – Winner 29 vs Winner 30
Game 38 – 12:00 – Winner 31 vs Winner 32
Game 39 – 13:00 – Loser 29 vs Loser 30
Game 40 – 14:00 – Loser 31 vs Loser 32
Game 41 – 15:00 – Plate SF 1 – Loser 33 vs Loser 35
Game 42 – 16:00 – Plate SF 2 – Loser 34 vs Loser 36
South Africa vs Argentina – Viewing on five big screen TVs
Game 43 – 19:30 – SF 1 – Winner 33 vs Winner 35
Game 44 – 20:30 – SF 2 – Winner 34 vs Winner 36
Sunday, 28 September
Game 45 – 07:00 – 15/16 – Loser 40 vs Loser 39
Game 46 – 07:50 – 13/14 – Winner 40 vs Winner 39
Game 47 – 08:40 – 11/12 – Loser 37 vs Loser 38
Game 48 – 09:30 – 9/10 – Winner 37 vs Winner 38
Game 49 – 10:20 – 7/8 – Loser 41 vs Loser 42
Game 50 – 11:10 – 5/6 – Winner 41 vs Winner 42
Game 51 – 12:00 – 3/4 – Loser 44 vs Loser 43
Game 52 – 13:00 – 1/2 – Winner 44 vs Winner 43
14:00 – Prize Giving
