Friday Nite Lights: Kyle White hattrick sparks Northwood, DHS tops Westville
Northwood and Durban High School put on excellent shows in recording victories over Glenwood High School and Westville Boys’ High in their Hyundai Friday Nite Lights clashes.
Northwood overran Glenwood 8-1, while DHS outlasted Westville 3-2.
The Knights lit up a cool night at Glenwood by romping to a comprehensive win over their hosts, who had been competitive in every outing until Friday evening.
Captain Kyle White led the way with a hattrick, while Luke Allen scored a brace. Luc Boyall, Taylon Goodwin, and Alesandro Chambi Rocha chipped in with a goal each.
“I was happy with the boys. We played in a different shape this evening and they adapted quickly. We showed good intensity for longer periods,” Justin Collins, the Northwood coach, said after the game.
As a side they meet often, it was easy to see how much Glenwood has improved as a hockey-playing school, and Collins was complimentary towards Braydon Naidoo, the Glenwood Director of Hockey.
“Braydon Naidoo is doing special things in their programme, and we knew today was going to be a difficult day across the board. We knew Glenwood was going to be a difficult game for us on their home turf and being on their Old Boys’ Day,” Collins said.
The Northwood coach said the Knights’ best chance lay in them getting an early goal. He explained: “We needed to score early to put them under pressure. We knew the longer they stayed in it the harder it would be for us.”
His charges met the brief, scoring their opener barely four minutes into the first chukka. Glenwood wasn’t easily deflated, and they fought back in an attempt to restore parity. However, it was not to be. Instead, Northwood went up 2-0 in the second quarter and then made it 3-0 shortly after that.
Glenwood, with typical fight, kept taking the game to Northwood and they pulled one back almost immediately to send the teams into halftime with the visitors 3-1 ahead.
Unfortunately for the hosts, the floodgates opened in the second half. The Knights struck twice in the third chukka without reply and added three more in the fourth quarter to complete a dominant win.
Coach Collins was also pleased with the return of Ben Loxton to the side, after he had spent some time on the sidelines with a long-term injury. “I really feel that Ben Loxton has brought a different dynamic to our team,” he said.
DHS made their trip to Westville worthwhile by recording a tight 3-2 victory over their hosts. Coach Keegan Hezlett’s side ran out with the intent to exert their play on the home side from the opening whistle, but they were met by an equal and opposite force from the Griffin.
The sides shared a goalless first chukka during which the action swung from one end to the other. Five minutes from halftime, DHS broke the deadlock. A patient build-up stretched Westville’s defences and when Sithsaba Siyoyo was given a chance on goal he finished well.
“The boys managed the overhead threat from Westville really well. I was also happy with how they managed the transition from attack to defence,” Hezlett said after the match.
The DHS coach also complimented his charges’ patience when building up, although he felt that they could have created and converted more chances.
Only a minute after the break, Westville equalised. However, DHS had travelled to Westville in search of a win, and they went back in front when their captain Joshua Mungherera found the back of the net six minutes later.
DHS extended their lead to 3-1 when Josh van Biljon converted a short corner with five minutes left on the clock.
Westville was like a dog with a bone, though. They refused to give up and belligerently fought to cut the deficit. They were rewarded with a second goal in the final minute of the match, but they had run out of time to grab an equaliser.
RESULTS
Northwood 8-1 Glenwood
DHS 3-2 Westville
