DAY 1| Boland and WP start brightly, Northerns make a big statement
The highly anticipated u18 SASHOC National Week got off to a frenzied start on Sunday at the University of the Free State. For some, there was a positive start, but for others, another quick visit to the drawing board might be necessary ahead of a jam-packed week.
Boland, Western Province A, and Northern Gauteng were the big winners on Sunday, with each collecting three points from their opening matches.
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After missing out on a medal position in last year’s event (they finished fourth), Boland kicked matters off in the tournament’s first match against a strong Border side.
Both sides started slowly, with very little action in the first chukka. However, Boland attacked with precision in the second quarter and were duly rewarded when the dangerous Juan Swanepoel netted twice in quick succession to give his side a 2-0 lead.
Coach Jacques Grobler’s side wasn’t done, and with their opponents showing cracks in their defence, they made it 3-0 through a Reuben Sendzul drag flick from a penalty corner to head into halftime with a healthy advantage.
There was no change to the score in the third chukka, but Sendzul claimed his brace in the fourth to seal a hard-fought 4-0 win for his team.
“It’s a positive start. We didn’t concede any short corners and shots at goal, so I’m happy,” coach Grobler told SuperSport Schools Plus after the encounter.
“From a defensive point of view, it was great. We created a lot of opportunities and scored some excellent goals. We missed a couple, but I’d rather have us getting into positions where we can score, rather than not scoring at all.”
Day two sees Boland facing Western Province B, before a doubleheader on Tuesday, when they’ll take on their neighbours, Western Province A, and Southern Gauteng B.
Speaking of Western Province A, the defending champions were made to work hard for their win on Sunday.
Tagged as “favourites” by many, the team from Cape Town found the going hard in the early stages of their game against a resilient and motivated Southern Gauteng B side.
For the first quarter-of-an-hour, the sides were level-pegging. In the second chukka, though, Province broke the deadlock courtesy of a Litha Kraai goal from a PC. That goal, in addition to Cohen Williams’s brilliant tap-in from a counterattack momentarily gave the defending champs some breathing space.
Southerns B, however, playing with spirit and grit, and with their supporters in full voice in the stands, pulled a goal back early in the third chukka, courtesy of Tsoanelo Seutlouli.
They also remained solid at the back, with Khanyisa Kraai, Simon Benjamin, and skipper Murray Halstead-Cleak leading the way in preventing Province from adding to their tally.
Eventually, though, Province found a way through, with Dayle Gertson firing a drag flick into the back of the net to seal a 3-1 win for coach Bryce West‘s side.
“The first game of the tournament, especially playing against a Southerns side, is always going to be difficult,” West told SuperSport Schools Plus after the match.
“We were decent, but we still have a lot to work on. In tournament hockey, it’s just important to get three points on the board, and that’s what we got today, and the first box ticked.”
Identifying areas in which he would like to see improvement, West said: “We want to play longer phases together. I think today our phases were good, but too small.
“The in-betweens are where we struggled a lot, getting used to the turf – it is a bit heavy, so the players have to be better, get more on the ball. Our structures were good, and more energy is needed.”
Ahead of the SASHOC National Week, Northern Gauteng, coached by Kagiso Mathaba, announced their intention of causing some upsets. In their opening match of last year’s campaign, they took on Western Province A and were unfortunate to lose 2-3.
They didn’t allow history to repeat itself, recording an impressive come-from-behind 2-1 win over a strong KZN Inland A side.
After a goalless first half, the boys from KZN opened the scoring through a well-worked PC goal from Tino Hove.
The Inlanders continued to pose threats, but the Northerns defensive line stood firm.
They were, though, still behind as the fourth chukka loomed. However, a short corner strike from captain Zach Richardson, with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, levelled matters.
In the final chukka, with just over five minutes to play, Luken Brunette also scored from a penalty corner to hand his side the lead. Northerns then held on for the win.
“It was a bit of a tough start in the first half, having to come back from a goal down. But the boys showed character, which is something we’re trying to improve on from last year,” Mathaba said afterwards.
“We’ll take the win. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how you play. You just have to get the result.”
Mathaba said he hoped to see the excellent execution and composure Northerns showed in their set pieces continuing throughout the week.
“Yes, goals are the final product, but, for us, it’s important we execute corners, injections and get the ball on target because all of those get us an opportunity to score,” he explained.
“I think out of the three short corners, we scored twice, and that shows that getting shots on target helps a lot.
“I must say, though, we are taking it one game at a time. You look at our pool, it’s all A sides. There are no easy games. The tournament isn’t done.”
There were also a number of draws on the opening day, with Western Province B and KZN Coastal B finishing goalless, while Province B also drew 1-1 with Border.
Last year’s runners-up, Southern Gauteng A, shared a 2-2 draw with Eastern Province.
Southerns were forced to come from behind twice. EP netted first through Ben Ristow, but the Gauteng side replied through a PC strike from Fynn Campbell.
EP’s skipper Kian Cambier then produced a moment of brilliance to put his side back into the lead. Zeyad Davids replied with a field goal for Southerns, resulting in the match ending in a stalemate.
Southern Free State A held KZN Coastal A to a 1-1 draw, scoring in the last five minutes to snatch a share of the spoils. The hosts will go in search of their first win on Monday when they open the day’s proceedings with a clash against Southern Gauteng A at 08:45.
Day 1| Results and scorers
Pool A
Boland A 4 (2): Juan Swanepoel (2), Reuben Sendzul (2). Border A: 0.
Western Province B: 0. KZN Coastal B: 0.
Western Province A 3 (2): Litha Kraai, Cohen Williams, Dayle Gertson. Southern Gauteng B 1 (0): Tsoanelo Seutlouli.
Western Province B 1 (1): Ethan Daniels. Border A 1(1): Helio Ruiters.
Pool B
Northern Gauteng A 2 (0): Zac Richardson, Luken Brunette. KZN Inland A 1 (0): Tino Hove.
Eastern Province A 2 (1): Ben Ristow, Kian Cambier. Southern Gauteng A 2 (0): Fynn Campbell, Zeyad Davids.
Southern Free State A 1 (0): Nkhahle Sematlane. KZN Coastal A 1 (1): Josh Beck.
Day 2| Fixtures
Pool A
13:00 – Boland A vs Western Province B
14:25 – Border A vs Western Province A
15:50 – KZN Coastal B vs Southern Gauteng B
Pool B
08:45 -Southern Free State A vs Southern Gauteng A
10:10 – Northern Gauteng A vs Eastern Province A
11:35 – KZN Coastal A vs KZN Inland A
15:35- Southern Gauteng A vs Northern Gauteng A
17:15 – Eastern Province A vs KZN Coastal A
