DAY 2| Southerns hit their stride as WP and Boland continue to dominate
After a rather scratchy start to the SASHOC National Week on Sunday, the Southern Gauteng u18A side made up ground on Monday, recording impressive victories over Southern Free State A and Northern Gauteng A.
On Sunday, despite producing some good play, Southerns were held to a 2-2 draw by Eastern Province (EP) in their Pool B opener, with Fynn Campbell and Zeyad Davids netting for the Gautengers.
Heading into day two, they had set their sights on fixing some of the errors that had cost them a victory against EP.
In their morning game, coach Anthony Woodhouse’s team took on a fierce Southern Free State side, which was also in search of a first win after they drew 1-1 with KZN Coastal A the previous day.
From the start, both teams went at it hard. Gauteng controlled the midfield battle, while Ben Benjamin, Ryan Venter, and Nashaan Matross threatened in attack.
However, it took until the fourth chukka for the deadlock to be broken and it was Southerns’ captain Tyler-Reed Napier who made the breakthrough, scoring from close range.
Free State found a reply with eight minutes remaining when Matthias Visser sent a thunderbolt drag flick into the opposition goalbox.
On Sunday, the hosts had snatched a draw with a late equaliser. This time around, however, they fell victim to a late goal as Matt Eichweber struck from a penalty corner to claim the winner for Southerns.
In the afternoon, it was time for a clash of neighbours as Southerns and Northern Gauteng met.
Northerns had enjoyed an encouraging opening day, beating KZN Inland A 2-1, before drawing 1-1 with Eastern Province on Monday morning.
It’s fair to say that the battle of the teams separated by the Jukskei River lived up to expectations, with both sides showing passion, hunger, and desperation to claim the win.
Coach Kagiso Mathaba’s Northerns’ side led 2-1 at halftime, courtesy of penalty corner goals from Hein Seebach and captain Zac Richardson, while Matt Eichweber scored for Southerns.
After half-time, Southern Gauteng gained the ascendancy. Eichweber added another two goals to his personal haul, to complete a hattrick, before his skipper, Napier, scored a screamer to make it 4-2.
Luken Brunette, who has been in superb form for Northerns, pulled one back. It made for a tense finish with emotions getting the better of some, but, in the end, Southerns came away with a 4-3 win.
“We saw lots of fight from the team, which I appreciated,” Woodhouse told SuperSport Schools Plus after the heated encounter.
“It was great to see our PC fire, and we scored some good flicks. Tyler-Reed Napier again scored a special goal.
“It’s very positive to see in a Southerns’ group that guys have a lot of fight and energy. It’s not something we’ve always had in our DNA, but we are trying to fix that in the province. But, with that said, I’m really happy with the progress.”
Southern Gauteng’s next big challenge is facing the two KZN sides, Inland A and Coastal A.
On day three, they’ll take on KZN Coastal, after coach Cam Mackay’s team picked up its first win, edging out Eastern Province 3-2 on Monday afternoon. Tuesday’s showdown is scheduled for 15:35.
Woodhouse said his charges will prepare for what he described as “tournament-defining matches.”
“We are definitely in the tournament, and in a good position based on the results that have come out of the pool,” he said.
“We still have to work hard and win the next games, because we don’t want to be in a situation where we are relying on [others’] results
“We have to be clinical in trying to break a well-coached KZN side and work hard in defence to keep some of their best players at bay,” he concluded.
In other Pool B encounters, KZN Coastal and KZN Inland shared a 2-2 draw. Coastal followed that up with their win over Eastern Province.
Matters appear to be much clearer in Pool A, where Western Province A and Boland are setting the pace.
Boland, after a 4-0 win over Border on Sunday, handed Western Province B a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday. Reuben Sendzul stole the show for the Bolanders, scoring a hattrick of goals.
Western Province also bagged a second win of their campaign, thumping Border 9-0.
Litha Kraai, who was on the scoresheet on day one, netted four times, while Zachary Gibbon scored a brace, and further goals from Josh le Roux, Dayle Gertson, and Reece Theunis completed the drubbing.
Southern Gauteng B also recorded their first win of the tournament, edging out KZN Coastal B 4-3 in a heated clash.
The action resumes on Tuesday morning at 08:30 when Western Province B takes on Southern Gauteng B.
Catch all the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
Day 2| Results and scorers
Pool A
Boland A 3 (2): Reuben Sendzul (3). Western Province B 1 (0): Noah Arries
Western Province A 9 (6): Litha Kraai (4), Zachary Gibbon (2), Josh le Roux, Dayle Gertson, Reece Theunis. Border A 0 (0).
KZN Coastal B 3 (2): Seth Simpson (2), Sahil Matai. Southern Gauteng B 4 (3): Murray Halstead-Cleak, Aiden Blatch, Benjamin Simon, Ezray Stadt.
Pool B
Southern Gauteng A 2 (0): Tyler-Reed Napier, Matt Eichweber. Southern Free State A 1 (0): Matthias Visser.
Northern Gauteng A 1 (1): Zandrè Nel. Eastern Province A 1 (1): Luke Tait.
KZN Coastal A 2 (1): Matthew De Oliveira, Trent Jessop. KZN Inland A 2 (0): Julian Koningkramer, Banele Dlamini.
Southern Gauteng A 4 (1): Matt Eichweber (3), Tyler-Reed Napier. Northern Gauteng A 3 (2): Hein Seebach, Zac Richardson, Luken Brunette.
KZN Coastal A 3 (2): Josh Mungherera, Sithsaba Siyoyo, Lumi Matwele. Eastern Province A 2 (1): Ben Ristow, Zack Willimott.
Results | Section B
Pool X
KZN Inland B 2-1 North West
Mpumalanga 2-1 Eastern Province B
Boland B 4-0 Southern Free State B
KZN Inland B 1-1 Mpumalanga
Pool Y
Northerns Blues 2-0 Eastern Gauteng
Limpopo 2-1 Northern Cape
Eden 3-0 Northern Free State
Day 3| Fixtures
Pool A
08:30 – Western Province B vs Southern Gauteng B
09:55 – Western Province A vs Boland A
11:20 – KZN Coastal B vs Border A
15:35 – Western Province A vs KZN Coastal B @Grey College
17:00 – Southern Gauteng B vs Boland A
Pool B
12:45 – KZN Inland A vs Eastern Province A
14:10 – Northern Gauteng A vs Southern Free State A
15:35 – Southern Gauteng A vs KZN Coastal A
