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Eastern Cape top guns collide as Grey High visits St Andrew’s College

By Avuyile Sawula , in Hockey | Featured Hockey | News , at 2024-05-22 Tags: , , , ,

The Grey High first team with their supporters after their commanding 7-1 win over Pearson High School on 17 May 2024. Photo: Grant Howard
The Grey High first team with their supporters after their commanding 7-1 win over Pearson High School on 17 May 2024. Photo: Grant Howard

An in-form, ferocious, and motivated Grey High School side will visit Makhanda this week, intent on keeping their unbeaten record in the Eastern Cape intact when they face St Andrew’s College on Friday afternoon.

The action on the Webster Astroturf begins at 17:30.

Grey High, this season, has been a force to be reckoned with, not only in the Eastern Cape but around the country.

There was optimism surrounding the school’s hockey programme early in the season when old boy Andrew Beynon moved from Collegiate Girls’ High to take over as the Director of Hockey and coach of the 1st XI.

Since the move, Beynon has led the Grey first team to some dazzlingly impressive results, which have established the Gqeberha school as being among SA’s best on the turf in 2024.

The side was unbeaten in the pre-season at the Tony Godding Festival in East London. Then, at the highly competitive Nomads Festival, which was hosted by Maritzburg College, they repeated that feat.

They transferred that energy into their first match of the season, in which they comfortably dismantled Dale College 9-0 in Qonce, as skipper Kian Cambier, Xander Elkington, and Luke Tait all scored braces.

Beynon’s side, the week after, travelled to Cape Town to meet Wynberg Boys’ High and South African College High School (SACS) on the same weekend.

They drew 2-2 with Wynberg, and the following morning tasted defeat for the first time against SACS, going down 2-5.

That defeat was followed by a 2-3 loss at home against Paul Roos Gimnasium, in an inter-schools’ match. Grey led 2-0 before letting their advantage slip late in the contest.

Since then, Grey has lost only once, on a penalty shootout against SACS in the semi-final of the Hibbert Shield. They finished the tournament as the bronze medallists, however.

They’ve cruised to three comfortable wins, beating Queen’ College 6-0, Woodridge College 6-1, and Pearson High, in their most recent outing, 7-1.

The showdown with St Andrew’s will be their last for the term before those players selected for the provincial team head out to Bloemfontein for the SASHOC National Week next month.

Photo credits: Grant Howard
Photo credits: Grant Howard

To win away from home, they will look to some of their standout players to come to the fore for one last time this term.

They include Ben Ristow and Marco Giaconi, who will be key in organising matters at the back.

Captain Kian Cambier, Caden Skinnette, and Blake Muller will be pivotal in the midfield.

Meanwhile, in front of goal, Luke Tait has been scoring for fun lately and will be aiming for more of the same.

Other players to keep an eye on include Logan Goddard Ford, Caleb Humphreys, and Xander Elkington.

St Andrew’s, meanwhile, has enjoyed a strong season, and they, like Grey, were unbeaten at the Tony Godding Festival. They subsequently lost only once at the Bishops 175 Festival. They’ll be a good challenge for the visitors.

In their most recent action, they defeated Hudson Park 3-0 and overran Cambridge High School 7-1.

Players to keep a close eye on include Thando Wopula, and provincial representatives, David Semrau and Samuel Scheckter.

Other matches

In other fixtures, Hudson Park High, after a two-week break, will return to action in Komani against Queen’s College.

Hudson’s last outing was the aforementioned 0-3 loss to St Andrew’s, and they will be well-rested and keen to cause an upset at the Chris Harker AstroTurf.

In East London, Cambridge High School faces a daunting task against the high-flying Selborne College, who are led by Tre’ Gilbert. Meanwhile, Westering High School welcomes Kingswood College to Gqeberha.

Fixtures

Friday, 24 May 

17:00 – Queen’s College vs Hudson Park
17:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Grey High
18:00 – Cambridge High vs Selborne College
TBC – Westering High School vs Kingswood College

Avuyile Sawula
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.