Confident Trio takes on Sentraal in Kroonstad
Trio High School will be confident of a winning start when they kick off their WesGrow Series campaign against Hoërskool Sentraal in Kroonstad on Friday.
The meeting of the sides follows the start of the series last weekend, when Bethlehem Voortrekker got the better of Hoerskool Diamantveld in hot conditions in the Northern Cape.
Trio enjoyed their first action of the season when they took on EG Jansen at their sports day last week.
They dominated that encounter, scoring five goals, through Christian van der Ross, Zian Saunderson, and a hattrick by youngster, Jandré Spies, to cruise to a comfortable 5-0 win.
Trio, playing at home for a second week running, will be eager to make it back-to-back wins.
Speaking to SuperSport Schools ahead of the clash, head coach Morné van Zyl said he was satisfied with his team’s performances during their pre-season, but there is still room for improvement.
“We have played a few pre-season games, so we are ready for the first WesGrow match, and looking forward to playing good hockey,” he said.
“Last year, we did well in the Wesgrow Series and ended in third spot, just behind Jim Fouché and Fichardtpark.
“We had a great game last year against Sentraal and won 7-1. Playing against Sentraal is always a pleasure. It is clean and hard hockey, in good spirit.”
The teams enter the clash in contrasting form, with the hosts on a high and the visitors coming off defeats against Upington and Noord-Kaap at the Hoërskool Fichardtpark Sports Day.
Van Zyl’s side will seek to build further momentum while also aiming to rectify some of the errors they identified during the pre-season.
“Last weekend’s win was a good boost for the team and our team played excellent hockey. I was proud to be their coach,” Van Zyl said.
“We were pleased. We identified a few areas we could work on, and we have been busy improving on some mistakes we picked up.
“We would like to improve our communication in the circle a bit more and see how that can help us improve.”
This year, the Trio 1st XI, a balanced mix of experience and youth, will be captained by Zian Saunderson.
Amo Dumane, in defence, is one of the players to look out for, while Vusi Kumalo and Ivan de Bruyn will lead the attack from the midfield.
Up front, Jandré Spies will, no doubt, be determined to further boost his goal tally, following his hattrick last weekend.
TRIO 1ST SQUAD
Christopher Lues, JJ Verster, Stefan Esterhuizen, Amo Dumane, Orefile Tiro, Ivan De Bruyn, Vusi Kumalo, Christian van der Ross, Gift Kechane, Zian Saunderson, Katleho Mohomane, Jandre Spies, Caswell Mokoena, Jaco Kleingeld, Lesedi Matseliso, Xian Victor.
Fixtures
13:30 – Trio vs Sentraal (Boys u19B)
14:30 –Trio vs Sentraal (Boys u19A)
15:45 –Trio vs Sentraal (Boys u14)
16:45 – Trio vs Sentraal (Boys u16)
