Fairmont shows class to retain Belgotex Easter Festival titles
“To have both sides go back-to-back says a lot about the culture and the work being put in across the programme.”
Those were the words of Fairmont High School‘s girls’ first-team coach, Jody Lang, after both the boys’ and girls’ teams successfully defended their Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival titles in Cape Town on Saturday.
The boys, led by coach Bryce West, edged out York High 1-0 in a thrilling final, while the girls took down Stellenberg High by the same score in their showpiece at the Hartleyvale A AstroTurf.
For the boys, it was a near-perfect campaign after they dominated their group opponents.
In Pool A, they racked up convincing wins over Midstream College, Zimbabwe’s Hellenic Academy, and Hoërskool Framesby.
Fairmont then faced a strong Hoërskool Outeniqua side in the last eight. They scraped a 3-2 win over the George school before beating a Paul Roos Invitational team 2-1 in the semifinals, courtesy of goals by Nathan Glasby and Zach Woolstencroft.
In the final, it took a cracking goal by SA u17 stalwart Ryan Groenewald to seal the win and defend the title.
“I’m extremely proud of this group. We have not had the greatest start to the year, but to see how far we have come in a short period is very exciting,” coach West told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“Achieving back-to-back titles in the Belgotex tournament is a testament to the work the boys have and are putting in.”
The final against York was the second meeting between the sides after they met during the York Hockey Festival a week earlier. That clash finished 2-1 in favour of the hosts, but the defeat also served as motivation for Fairmont in Saturday’s title showdown.
“We knew it would be a tightly contested game,” West said.
“We lost to them at their festival, so the team worked well in our defensive shapes. Most importantly, our PC defence was immense.”
Fairmont will aim to carry their winning momentum into their first league fixture next week against Langa Hockey Club. West believes the triumph has come at the right time.
“This will be a massive confidence booster,” he said. “In our previous two festivals, we were not clicking, and we were still finding our feet. It all came together this week, and the boys know that our primary focus is the league fixtures, which start next week, and I hope we can carry this form into those games.”
GIRLS
Coach Jody Lang‘s side, like Fairmont’s boys’ 1st XI, also needed just one goal to seal the title against Stellenberg High.
It came late in the final chukka, with Madison Ackerman getting the job done.
Similar to their school counterparts, the girls authored a fantastic run and were unbeaten in their group games.
They carried that momentum into the playoffs, beating Hudson Park High 3-0 in the quarterfinals before outplaying the Zimbabwean visitors, Chisipite, winning by the same score, to secure their place in the title decider.
The final was a different ball game, against a resilient Stellenberg side that had edged out York High 2-1 on penalties to progress.
“The week was outstanding. From the first game, there was a strong sense of belief in the group,” coach Lang told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“What stood out was the consistency from the players – not just in results, but in effort, energy, and how they stuck to our structures.
“As the tournament went on, that belief just grew stronger with each performance. I think we started confidently, but as the tournament went on, we realised the real possibility of getting very close to a medal.”
Fairmont had to withstand some high-pressure situations during the festival, right from the group stage until their knockout games.
Coach Lang said maintaining composure was crucial: “Games of this magnitude will always have moments that are massive to the girls, and I just wanted them to stay calm.
“When you stay calm and focus on the game plan, all that is left is execution, which we spoke about. Leave everything that you have on the field, for the people next to you and for the entire school.
“This was their moment, and they lived up to it.”
OTHER MATCHES
In other matches on the final day, York High defeated Chisipite 2-0 to claim the girls’ bronze medal.
Rustenburg Girls’ High finished in fifth place, with Hudson Park in sixth. St Paul’s, of Windhoek, thumped Marondera’s Peterhouse 9-1 to seal seventh place, while Durbanville placed ninth, with the top 10 completed by the Paarl Gimnasium Invitational XI.
On the boys’ side, the Paul Roos Invitational team took home the bronze medal after beating HTS Drostdy 4-1 in their final match.
Worcester Gimnasium placed fifth, with Outeniqua, Stellenberg, the SACS Invitational XI, Noordheuwel and the Paarl Gim Invitational XI completing the top 10.
