Defending champs, Pinetown and St Mary’s DSG, off to strong starts
Thursday, day one of the third Kearsney Soccer Tournament dawned mild and sunny, with the Botha’s Hill campus presenting an inviting canvas for the 36 teams spread across high school, girls’ high school, and primary school divisions.
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Much was expected of Pinetown Boys’ High, the defending champion and recent winner of the Kloof High Football Tournament, at which they beat the Absa Wildeklawer winner, Virginia High, in a superb final. In a key clash, Pinetown beat Glenwood High 2-1, but they were held to a goalless draw by Gqeberha’s Urban Academy.
The Eastern Cape side made its mark in Group C, also bagging 3-0 victories over Glenwood and Curro Somerset West in their other outings, which leaves them top of the group standings heading into day two.
Maqhutshana A tops the table in Group A, also with two wins and a draw. They shared a 1-1 result with Clifton College but then overran Maqhutshana B 5-0 and scored a 2-0 win over Trinityhouse Rand Park Ridge.
Clifton boosted their chances of progressing to the Cup quarterfinals by dispatching Maqhutshana B 5-2 in their second match, while Maqhutshana B also recorded a 3-0 win over Trinityhouse.
Group B, featuring the hosts, Kearsney College, is wide open heading into the last round of group matches on Friday morning.
Kearsney drew 0-0 with Queensburgh High but then outplayed Grace College 4-0.
Queensburgh, meanwhile, beat Sutherland 2-1, and Sutherland won by the same score against Grace.
Queensburgh will feel confident heading into their last group game against Grace College on Friday, but Kearsney faces what appears to be a stiffer challenge from Sutherland.
Siyajabula High laid down a marker in Group D when they scorched to a 4-1 win over Durban High School (DHS), the winner of the inaugural Kearsney Soccer Tournament in 2023, in their opener.
Curro Hazeldean, though, held Siyajabula to a 1-1 draw in their second outing. The Pretoria school also beat Ashton Ballito 2-0. DHS also comfortably dealt with Ashton, cruising to a 4-1 win.
Girls’ competition
In the girls’ competition, the defending champion, St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), made an emphatic start to their title defence, overrunning Crawford College La Lucia 6-1 and Trinity House Rand Park Ridge 5-1.
At the same time, though, Durban Girls’ High also bagged two one-sided wins in Group A, overpowering Trinity House 6-2 and Crawford La Lucia 8-2. That leaves them one goal better off than St Mary’s on goal difference.
At 10:00, on Friday morning, St Mary’s DSG and Durban Girls’ High, will meet to decide who tops the standings.
Group B is up for grabs, but Curro Hazeldean has the edge after a 3-1 win over Sastri College and a tight 3-2 defeat of Danville Park Girls’ High.
Danville Park, though, beat Ashton College 1-0, so they remain in the mix, and Ashton, after a 4-0 victory over Sastri College could also finish in the top two and claim a place in the cross-pool semi-finals.
BOYS’ STANDINGS
Group A
Trinityhouse Rand Park Ridge 0-3 Maqhutshana B
Clifton College 1-1 Maqhutshana A
Maqhutshana B 2-5 Clifton College
Maqhutshana A 5-0 Maqhutshana B
Trinityhouse Rand Park Ridge 0-2 Maqhutshana A 2
Group B
Sutherland 1-2 Queensburgh High
Kearsney College 4-0 Grace College
Queensburgh High 0-0 Kearsney College
Sutherland 2-1 Grace College
Group C
Curro Somerset West 0-3 Glenwood High
Pinetown Boys’ High 0-0 Urban Academy
Glenwood High 1-2 Pinetown Boys’ High
Urban Academy 3-0 Glenwood
Curro Somerset West 0-3 Urban Academy
Group D
Curro Hazeldean 2-0 Ashton Ballito
Durban High School 1-4 Siyajabula High
Ashton Ballito 1-4 Durban High School
Curro Hazeldean 1-1 Siyajabula High
GIRLS’ STANDINGS
Group A
St Mary’s DSG 6-1 Crawford La Lucia
Trinity House 1-5 St Mary’s DSG
Durban Girls’ High 6-2 Trinity House
Crawford La Lucia 2-8 Durban Girls’ High
Group B
Ashton College 0-1 Danville Park Girls’ High
Sastri College 0-4 Ashton College
Curro Hazeldean 3-1 Sastri College
Danville Park Girls’ High 2-3 Curro Hazeldean
