Clifton Water Polo Tournament quarterfinalists confirmed
Hilton College, SACS, Paul Roos, Affies, St John’s, Clifton, Westville, and Kearsney punched their tickets to the quarterfinals of the Clifton Centenary Water Polo Tournament on Friday at the Clifton Aquatic Centre in Durban.
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The story of the day was Kearsney’s qualification for a spot in the top eight.
The Botha’s Hill boys took a circuitous route, despite leading Pool B after day one. Kearsney played the first match of the event, and they got the tournament challenge off to a roaring start by walloping Michaelhouse 13-3. They followed that up with a victory over Affies and went to bed on Thursday in first place.
However, their win over Affies had come in a penalty shootout, which meant they didn’t receive the three points that victories in regulation time bring. Instead, they picked up two points and Affies received one, which would prove to be important.
On Friday, Kearsney’s qualification for the next stage was cast in doubt when Paul Roos edged them 8-7. They were pushed further down, into third place, when Affies thrashed Michaelhouse 10-3 in the last round of group matches. That sequence of events to Kearsney facing Durban High School (DHS), who had two wins and a single loss under their belt, in a playoff match.
DHS finished second in Pool D, but Kearsney would have fancied their chances of taking down the Horseflies. After a competitive battle, Kearsney clinched a 10-8 victory, which made them the only third-placed team to win their playoff game against a second-placed side.
Kearsney will go to battle against St John’s in their quarterfinal tie, a school that was home to Kearsney coach Nicholas Rodda before he moved to the KZN school.
The Gauteng side, who overwhelmed Maritzburg College and Selborne on day one, made it three in three when they brushed Westville aside, defeating the KZN boys 6-2 to complete a clean sweep that left them in the top spot in Pool C.
Alongside St John’s, Clifton and Hilton also produced dominant runs in Pools C and D respectively.
The hosts, Clifton, made light work of the challenges from DHS and KES on day one. They put the cherry on the top, to the delight of the home crowd, with a 12-3 thrashing of Reddam on Friday in which they moved the ball well. Clifton will a stern test from Westville in their quarterfinal contest.
The Griffin had a strong start, chalking up two wins in two matches on day one, but they fell to the log leaders, St John’s, in the final round of group games. In the playoffs, though, they punched their ticket to the quarterfinals with a 5-3 win over Northwood.
Hilton topped Pool A, withstanding a furious Northwood challenge in their opener before scoring a convincing win over Grey College. Their sternest test came when they met SACS on Friday afternoon.
On day one, Jason Sileno’s charges came up trumps when they scored two late goals to record a hard-fought victory over Northwood. More of the same mettle was required when they took on SACS. There were no late goals this time around. Their encounter was decided by a penalty shootout, where Sileno’s charges held their nerve to claim a 9-8 victory.
Paul Roos, who finished second in Pool B, stands between Hilton and a semifinal spot. It is a tie the KZN side will not be taking lightly. The Stellenbosch side has a proven pedigree. They were the runners-up in last year’s Clifton Water Polo Tournament and came into the tournament as one of the favourites to win the title.
The Capetonians were in a tight group where they squeezed past Michaelhouse and narrowly lost to Affies on day one, before delivering an 8-7 victory over Kearsney to knock the local team from the top spot in the pool.
Affies topped Pool B, scoring two wins and a penalty shootout loss. They face arguably the toughest of the second-place finishers, SACS, who defeated Selborne College in their playoff match.
The battle-hardened Capetonians have shown their ability to score big and not concede a lot in their victories over Grey College and Northwood. They also showed their fighting spirit in their narrow loss to Hilton, coming back to level the contest at 7-7 after twice trailing by three goals.
The quarterfinal matches begin at 09:30 on Saturday.
Results Group Stage
KES 5 –7 DHS
Kearsney 7-8 Paul Roos
Northwood 7-4 Grey College
Clifton 12-3 Reddam Constantia
Selborne 18-3 Maritzburg
Affies 10-3 Michaelhouse
Hilton (9 ) 7-7 (8) SACS
Westville 2-6 St John’s
Playoff Matches
SACS 5-4 Selborne
Paul Roos 9-3 Reddam
Northwood 3-5 Westville
Kearsney 10-8 DHS
Selborne 10-7 KES
Reddam Constantia 11-1 Grey College
