Clifton Water Polo Tournament quarterfinals decided; SACS faces Clifton
After a busy 16-game schedule on Thursday, the Clifton Water Polo Tournament‘s hectic pace eased up on Friday with eight games being played. The first four had places in the quarterfinals on the line.
Four sides had already secured their quarterfinals spots by finishing in first place in their groups, which meant they had a day off. Clifton College topped pool A, Kearsney College won through from Pool B, St John’s led the way in Pool C, and Hilton College finished in first place in Pool D.
After those four progressed with clean records of three wins from three matches, Thursday’s contests for places in the quarterfinals pitted second-placed teams against third-placed teams from other groups.
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The action began with Selborne College, second in Pool A, up against Westville Boys’ High, who had finished third in Pool C.
In beautiful Durban sunshine, at the Clifton Aquatic Centre, the East London school, winners against Reddam House Constantia and Maritzburg College previously, but losers against Clifton, broke clear of Westville in the second chukka but then fell behind before staging a stirring fightback to claim victory.
It was 1-1 after the opening chukka, but Selborne edged 5-4 ahead at halftime. Westville, though, snatched the lead in the third chukka, going up 7-5 with one quarter to go. Under pressure, Selborne responded superbly.
Liam Hansen pulled the Eastern Cape side to within a goal with a five-metre penalty before Daniel Woodin levelled the scores with a fantastic snap-shot from wide on the left.
With time running down, the danger man, Hansen, fired in a rocket to give Selborne an 8-7 lead, and they held onto it until the end.
Next up was SACS, the defending champion, who finished third in Pool D, against a familiar Western Cape foe, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), the runner-up in Pool C. Beaten twice in their group, by Hilton and Michaelhouse, SACS knew that one more slip would mean their title defence was done.
They rose to the occasion and seized the initiative from the first chukka. Attacking with precision and defending well, they raced into a 5-1 lead. From there, it was an uphill slog for Paul Roos.
At halftime, it was 7-2 in favour of SACS. PRG fought back in the third chukka to make it 11-6 with a quarter to go. The contest, though, concluded in a 13-8 win for SACS, a result that will have boosted their confidence after a disappointing Thursday that brought successive defeats.
Then, it was the turn of Reddam House Constantia, the third placed team from Pool A, to take on Affies, who had sneaked into second in Pool C on goal difference over Westville and Durban High School (DHS).
There was nothing to separate the sides. Affies led 8-6 at halftime, but Reddam battled their way back to make it 13-13 at the end of the fourth chukka. That sent the game to a penalty shootout.
After two shots, it was 1-1, but Adrian van Niekerk had the third Affies’ shot, which landed in the back of the net, disallowed for a double movement. Blake Brown, Reddam’s talisman, then fired home to secure a place for his side in the quarterfinals.
Northwood had finished third in Pool B after losing two games by a single goal, and they endured more heartbreak in their clash against Pool D runner-up, Michaelhouse.
That game, too, went to a penalty shootout after it had finished 7-7. KZN Schools’ goalie, Elliot Springate, saved Northwood’s first shot and celebrated it by wagging his finger, Dikembe Mutumbo-style, saying it was a no-go zone.
Michaelhouse, then, went two-up in the shootout before Preston Bees-Atkinson got one past Springate. Another successful Michaelhouse penalty, though, secured victory for the Balgowan boys.
Those results set up the quarterfinals as follows: Hilton versus Reddam House Constantia, St John’s versus Michaelhouse, Kearsney versus Selborne, and Clifton versus SACS.
That’s a tasty lineup, but it’s the last of the quarterfinals, between Clifton and SACS, that really catches the eye. It feels appropriate that the hosts, so impressive in the group stage, will have to oust the defending champs if they want to continue to challenge for the title.
The four losers of the morning’s matches were in action later in the day, taking on each of the fourth-place finishers from the group stage games.
Westville Boys’ High kept King Edward VII (KES) winless, claiming a hard-fought 13-11 win. Paul Roos Gimnasium rebounded from their loss to SACS with an 11-6 defeat of Maritzburg College, while Affies cruised to a comfortable 15-3 win over Grey College.
In the day’s last game, DHS, clearly the best of the fourth placed teams, became the only number four side to win, downing Northwood 8-5.
Saturday’s schedule has 12 games, with 10 running in succession before a break so that everyone can watch The Rugby Championship clash between South Africa and Argentina, which is being played in Durban, on five big screen TVs at the Clifton Aquatic Centre – hey, this is the home of the Springboks, after all – before the day’s action concludes with the Cup semi-finals.
FIXTURES
Saturday, 27 September
Game 33 – 07:00 – QF1 – Hilton vs Reddam House Constantia
Game 34 – 08:00 – QF2 – St John’s vs Michaelhouse
Game 35 – 09:00 – QF3 – Kearsney vs Selborne
Game 36 – 10:00 – QF4 – Clifton vs SACS
Game 37 – 11:00 – Westville vs Paarl Roos
Game 38 – 12:00 – Affies vs DHS
Game 39 – 13:00 – KES vs Maritzburg College
Game 40 – 14:00 – Grey College vs Northwood
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
