Clinical Bloemhof tops Pool B at St Mary’s Waverley Festival
Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof didn’t miss a beat on their march to the summit of Pool B after the second day of action at the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival.
Coach Jenny King’s side added two wins and a draw to their lot from day one to finish the first stage undefeated.
Zani Boezaart found the back of the net for the Capetonians in their 1-0 win over Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (Affies) in their first match on Friday morning. King’s charges followed that up with a 3-0 victory over Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High a few hours later, with Simone van der Merwe scoring a brace and Daniela Viljoen also striking.
“Our performances were clinical. However, the real test was our match against Eunice. I don’t feel our defence had been really tested,” King said. Eunice, though, tested both their defence and intensity in that key encounter.
King’s charges went toe-to-toe with Coach Nika Coertzen‘s side. There was little to separate the sides and, at the end of the match, they remained deadlocked at 0-0.
Their performance against Eunice left King optimistic that Bloemhof will be able to handle anything their opposition throws at them in the next round.
“I am quite confident that the girls can rise to the occasion. We just need to play a little bit more ball in the opposition half in those tough matches and make use of our chances. We have to keep it simple, keep moving the ball, get the ball down the sides of the field away from the central players/defenders,” King explained.
Bloemhof will be in Pool F in stage two of the festival. They have a contest against St Mary’s Waverley lined up at 08:30 and a blockbuster against St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, at 12:00.
Eunice finished with five points less than Bloemhof. They incurred a single loss at the hands of St John’s DSG on Thursday afternoon. Coertzen’s side, however, ensured that was their only pool stage loss. They convincingly won two of their three Friday encounters, overcoming Affies 1-0 and St Andrew’s School for Girls 2-0.
Eunice moves on to Pool G where a contest against St Cyprian’s at 09:50 awaits, followed by a game against Rhenish at 12:55.
Garsfontein, St John’s DSG, and Affies all finished with 11 points, tied for third place after each won three matches, drew two, and lost two. They were separated by goal difference.
Garsfontein took third with a positive goal difference of five after scoring 11 goals and conceding six. St John’s placed fourth, having scored seven and given up four, while Affies, in fifth, scored only three times while conceding just one goal
Garsfontein’s reward is a place in Pool G with Eunice. They tackle Rhenish at 09:25 and will also cross swords with St Cyprian’s at 13:20.
RESULTS
Affies 1-0 Roedean
Bloemhof 1-0 Affies
Garsfontein 4-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
St John’s DSG 3-0 Roedean
Eunice 2-0 St Andrew’s
Bloemhof 3-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
Eunice 1-0 Affies
Roedean 2-1 St Andrew’s
Garsfontein 2-1 St John’s DSG
St Andrew’s 0-0 St John’s DSG
Bloemhof 0-0 Eunice
