CTIHT: SACS and Paarl Gim dominate, UK’s Repton makes a statement
The defending champions of the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament (CTIHT), South African College High School (SACS) got their title defence off to a smooth start by recording two emphatic victories on day one of the tournament in the Mother City on Wednesday.
SACS, in their first match of the day, thumped the Namibian outfit, Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool, 5-0, before putting seven past Bridge House in their second encounter.
The side, coached by Sam Holmes, entered the tournament as the favourites to dominate Pool B, which also features Repton School B and Curro Durbanville.
In their match against the Namibian side, Nicholas Oscroft scored a hattrick for SACS, while further goals from Matthew Lassen and Aiden Hughes completed the drubbing for the Cape Town school.
Against Bridge House, SACS kept their foot on the gas, and Lorenzo Virissimo introduced himself to the tournament with four goals, before Hughes, and Lassen again made it onto the scoresheet, and Finlay Reid also scored.
The defending champs, who are being represented by an u17 (Stayers) lineup, are top of Pool B with six points.
They had been scheduled to face Repton B and Curro Durbanville on Thursday, but a stage 8 weather warning from the South African Weather Service, which includes Cape Town and the Winelands as areas likely to be affected, has led to a cancellation of Thursday’s matches. The organisers said the fixtures would be amended.
Another Western Cape side that impressed on the opening day was coach Jacques Grobler‘s Paarl Gimnasium team.
Competing in Pool D with Durbanville High School, Uppingham, WP Invitational, and Windhoek Gymnasium, the Paarl Gim boys lit it up in the very first match of the tournament on the Woodlands Astroturf at Bishops.
They made light work of Windhoek Gymnasium, recording a 5-0 win, courtesy of goals by skipper LD Nel, Stephan Pieterse, regular goal scorer Juan Swanepoel, and a brace from Stefan Wiehahn.
They were far from done, however, and smashed seven past the Western Province Invitational side in their second outing, although their opponents mustered two goals in response.
Wiehahn and Nel both bagged doubles before Swanepoel, Stephan Pieterse, and Johann van der Merwe put the final nails in the coffin. Buhle Kama and Abongile Ntsasa pounced for consolation goals for the Invitational side.
Those big wins have left Paarl Gim comfortably atop Pool D, but some uncertainty now exists about how the semi-finalists will be decided because of the weather, with those games originally scheduled for Sunday.
The surprise of the day came in Pool C where England’s Repton A scored a 4-2 win over Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), who, like SACS, fielded an u17 team.
It’s the first time the UK side is taking part in the tournament, and they made a statement against a top side, with Zak Wedgwood scoring a hattrick before Joseph Reid sealed the win with a strike of his own.
The team, led by coach Adam Dixon, made it two wins in a row, with a 4-1 victory over Hoërskool Outeniqua in their second match.
Wedgwood was again on the scoreboard, with a brace, before Reid and Rocco Ewart-White made it 4-1. Divan Badenhorst scored for the South African team.
Repton A leads the pool standings, with coach Michael Baker’s PRG occupying second place after winning their second match 5-0 against Reddam. Somerset College are in third place after their win over Outeniqua (3-1).
Matters are tight in Pool A, with Parel Vallei and Worcester Gimnasium tied on four points each after day one. They played to a 1-1 draw and then picked up wins over Windhoek High School and Paarl Boys’ High respectively.
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RESULTS – DAY ONE
Pool A
Paarl Boys’ High 4-0 Stewart’s Melville College
Parel Vallei 1-1 Worcester Gimnasium
Paarl Boys’ High 0-1 Worcester Gimnasium
Parel Vallei 4-0 Windhoek High School
Windhoek High School 2-1 Stewart’s Melville College
Pool B
SACS 5-0 Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool
Repton B 5-1 Curro Durbanville
SACS 7-0 Bridge House
Bridge House 3-2 Curro Durbanville
Repton B 4-2 Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool
Pool C
Repton A 4-2 Paul Roos Gimnasium
Somerset College 3-1 Hoërskool Outeniqua
Hoërskool Outeniqua 1-4 Repton A
Reddam House Constantia 0-5 Paul Roos Gimnasium
Reddam House Constantia 0-0 Somerset College
Pool D
Paarl Gimnasium 5-0 Windhoek Gymnasium
Windhoek Gymnasium 0-5 Durbanville High
Paarl Gimnasium 7-2 WP Invitational
WP Invitational 2-2 Uppingham
Durbanville 3-0 Uppingham
The fixtures will be updated once the organisers have revised the schedule.
