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Epworth’s Nzula proud of his side’s display at Saints Festival

By Vuyo Ndudane , in Hockey | Featured Hockey | News , at 2024-03-28 Tags: , , ,

Epworth School, after going down 3-0 to Garsfontein on Wednesday, fought their way to a 4-1 win over Brescia House in their first game on day two of the Saints Sports Festival at St Stithians College, in Sandton.

The Pietermaritzburg girls took the lead in the second chukka, striking twice, while keeping Brescia at bay.

In the third chukka, Epworth doubled their lead, going 4-0 up.

Although Brescia came out on the wrong side of the result, they made matters difficult for Epworth, and they scored their only goal of the match in the final chukka while denying Epworth any further goals.

Afterwards Epworth coach Sphephelo Nzula declared himself proud of his team’s fighting spirit: “Yesterday, we had a very unfortunate start,” he explained. “Coming in late got us on the back foot. We all know that preparations and warm-ups dictate how you play the game, and yesterday we didn’t have a chance to prepare for the game as we got here late.

“But regarding today’s game, the girls come out fine, and I am proud of them, in terms of how they played and how we picked ourselves up from yesterday.”

In their second clash, Nzula’s side went 3-0 down to Waterkloof after conceding three times before half-time. They were more resilient after the break, which pleased the coach.

“I am proud of the fact that they stayed in the game. They fought, despite the odds. In the last two quarters, we put up a fight. It was nil-nil throughout the second half. I am happy with the way they played,” he said.

In other games, DSG Makhanda won 4-2 against Garsfontein and Menlopark outplayed Brescia 8-0. St Stithians notched up two good wins, beating Bethlehem Voortrekker 3-1 and DSG Makhanda 4-0.

Meanwhile, in boys’ action, St Benedict’s and Clifton took it to each other, with the teams playing to a 2-2 draw.

St David’s Marist Inanda escaped with a narrow 2-1 victory over Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS). Earlier, PBHS edged out Glenwood in a seven-goal spectacle, winning 4-3.

Hilton College continued with their winning ways, beating Menlopark 2-0 before handing a strong St Stithians‘ side a 2-1 loss.

There are no matches on Friday and the hockey festival wraps up on Saturday, with the first match, between St David’s and Hilton, starting at 08:15. That’s followed by a showdown between Menlopark and Glenwood.

The girls’ matches start at 08:00, with DSG Makhanda taking on Menlopark, followed by Waterkloof against Springfield, and the hosts, St Stithians, against Epworth.

RESULTS

Thursday, 28 March

Boys
St Benedict’s 2-2 Clifton; Glenwood 3-4 PBHS; Menlopark 0-2 Hilton; Affies 1-0 Clifton; St David’s Marist Inanda 2-1 PBHS; Glenwood 0-1 St Benedict’s; Menlopark 3-2 St Andrew’s College; Alumni Men 8-2 Saints Invitational; St Stithians 1-2 Hilton College.

Girls
Springfield 1-1 Beaulieu; Brescia 0-8 Menlopark; St Stithians 3-1 Bethlehem Voortrekker; DSG Makhanda 4-2 Garsfontein; Waterkloof 0-1 Beaulieu; Brescia 1-4 Epworth; Menlopark 2-0 Springfield; Bethlehem Voortrekker 1-4 Garsfontein; Epworth 0-3 Waterkloof; Alumni Women 1-1 Saints Invitational GC; St Stithians 4-0 DSG Makhanda.

FIXTURES

Saturday, 30 March

Boys
08:15 – St David’s vs Hilton; 10:00 – Menlopark vs Glenwood; 10:30 – St Stithians vs Clifton; 11:15 – Affies vs St Andrew’s College; 11:30 – St Benedict’s vs PBHS; 13:30 – Glenwood vs St David’s; 13:45 – Affies vs Hilton; 14:45 – St Benedict’s vs St Andrew’s College; 15:30 – Menlopark vs Clifton; 18:00 – St Stithians vs PBHS

Girls
08:00 –DSG Makhanda vs Menlopark; 09:00 – Waterkloof vs Springfield; 09:15 – St Stithians vs Epworth; 12:15 – Brescia vs Beaulieu; 12:30 – Bethlehem Voortrekker vs DSG Makhanda; 14:45 – Garsfontein vs Springfield; 15:45 – Menlopark vs Epworth; 16:50 – Bethlehem Voortrekker vs Waterkloof; 17:00 – St Stithians v Beaulieu; 17:45 – Brescia vs Garsfontein.

Vuyo Ndudane
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.