Dark horses Southern Gauteng B on the right track, WP B pulls off an upset
One of the SASHOC National Week‘s dark horse teams, Southern Gauteng B, aka Witsies, delivered an exceptional performance on day two, after having claimed a hard-fought draw on Sunday, to remain unbeaten.
Western Province B, meanwhile, recorded a 3-1 upset win over Border A.
They made their intentions clear when Gemma Purcell struck from a penalty corner within the first five minutes of their match. However, Princess Mcinga responded to make it 1-1.
Purcell broke open the tie once more in the 33rd minute, forcing Border onto the defensive.
Then, in the dying minutes of the contest, Purcell struck again to grab a hattrick and secure a shock 3-1 victory. Her three-goal haul has placed Purcell among the top five goal scorers at the tournament.
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Witsies started their quest on Sunday against KwaZulu-Natal Inland. It was a tight contest, with the defences ruling the roost, and it, thus, finished in a goalless draw.
“Player of the match Tori Tanner-Ellis controlled the midfield.” Witsies’ coach Lance Louw said.
It was the latest in a long list of hard-fought matches between the sides. In 2017, they shared a 2-2 draw. In 2018, Inland came away with a 3-1 victory. Last year, they repeated that winning margin, with Leah Kriel, Sphume Shandu and Cara Waud scoring for Inland and Tylo Myburgh replying for Southern Gauteng B.
This year, Witsies appear to have the right ingredients to make some noise. Coach Louw explained how he and his coaching team have gone about building the side: “Our approach, as a coaching staff, was to look for girls who are willing to work hard for each other, while also giving players opportunities who have not been exposed to this level before.
On Monday morning, Southern Gauteng B failed to score, but they kept another clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Boland.
Louw’s side frustrated their opponent, who were made to pay for a number of fouls. Leah du Plessis picked up a green card, and a second one then turned into a yellow, while Jodi Oostendorp, and Jordan Boer were also shown yellows.
Louw lauded his team for sticking to the game plan: “It is always tough playing against a team like Boland, with big-name players and a bunch of big-name hockey schools. We stuck to our guns, put in a great defensive effort, and kept their big-name players quiet.
“We also had our chances. However, we could not convert to reward ourselves for the great defensive effort that was put in.
“We had a few bumps and bruises during the game but because of the togetherness in the team players could step up and grab the opportunity with both hands. The player of the match was Nicole Bailey.”
Louw admitted that it had been a tough challenge to lock horns with Boland. But, he said, his team will continue to work hard for one other, and they will focus on their unity while making sure they are having fun at the same time.
“We have a lot of u17 girls and young ladies who are playing for the first time in the SASHOC National Week. There are also a lot of girls who are not from your so-called big hockey schools in Johannesburg. To name a few, Heronbridge College, Trinity House Randpark Ridge, Rand Park High School, Parktown High School for Girls, Northcliff High, Fourways and Hoërskool Noordheuwel,” he concluded.
