Glenwood pushes Clifton to the brink in rollercoaster draw
With their scheduled clash with St Andrew’s School this weekend called off, Clifton College instead continued their preparation for the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield with an outing against Glenwood High School on Thursday evening at the Riverside Sports Club.
Clifton carried strong form into the match, having won four and drawn one at the Saint Stithians Easter Festival, where their victims included Falcon College, St Stithians, Reddam House Constantia, and Affies.
Glenwood, meanwhile, won one, drew one, and lost two at the KES Easter Festival, defeating Eldoraigne and drawing with Waterkloof, while going down to Grey College and Pearson, with the Gqeberha boys, who were unbeaten in Johannesburg, squeezing out a 1-0 win.
More recently, though, Glenwood demonstrated a strong team spirit by coming back from 0-2 down to draw 2-2 with Maritzburg College.
On Thursday, they gave high-flying Clifton everything they had and, when the final whistle blew, Clifton had snatched a 3-3 draw with a penalty stroke only two-and-a-half minutes from time.
The boys are fighting. This is a different Glenwood,” the school’s Director of Hockey, Braydon Naidoo, told SuperSport Schools Plus. “They’re digging deep. The body language is good, there’s good energy, and they’re in the fight, and they’re expecting to get results from that.”
The match was a personal triumph for Daniel Ruiters. Left out of Glenwood’s squad for the KES Easter Festival, he delivered the kind of response that makes coaches happy by netting his first 1st XI hat-trick.
Early on, the contest lacked intensity, and it appeared as if it might be business as usual for Clifton when they turned their early territorial dominance into an eighth-minute lead, thanks to a calm reverse stick finish from Luke Carolan after a scramble in the Glenwood circle.
Through the first chukka, they appeared to be on cruise control, but Ruiters stunned the home side in the first minute of the second half by levelling the scores.
Clifton came close to taking the lead again from a penalty corner, but Ithani Doyi pulled off a magnificent goal-line save, rejecting Clifton captain Ryde Brisset‘s sizzling high shot. Almost immediately, Glenwood hit back, going the length of the field before Ruiters provided the finish to make it 2-1.
Given another penalty corner opportunity, Brisset changed his plan and fired a drag flick low and hard past the goalkeeper’s right to make it 2-2.
Stung by having fallen behind, Clifton picked up their intensity, but Glenwood matched them.
Deep into the fourth chukka, Clifton defender Tye Milne led an attack deep into Glenwood’s half, but when he was dispossessed, he slipped as he attempted to recover, and the visitors launched another scything counterattack. They opened up a one-man advantage, forcing Clifton goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter to come off his line, and a neat pass set up Ruiters for a tap-in.
Glenwood led 3-2 with little time remaining in the game. Credit to Clifton, they hungrily chased an equaliser, and they got it, courtesy of Milne, who was handed the responsibility of converting the penalty stroke after a Clifton attacker was taken out in the Glenwood circle.
Clifton’s coach, Calvin Price, was none too pleased with his side after the game. They hadn’t switched on until they found themselves trailing 1-2 in the second half. At the Hibbert Shield, not being switched on will cost them dearly.
On a positive note, it was a needed and timely reminder to Clifton that they need to be on song from the first whistle. that nothing is a given. They’ve been caught cold early on in a couple of matches this season, and will need to guard against that.
Glenwood’s players didn’t appear that happy with the draw either, which spoke volumes about the strides the school has made since Braydon Naidoo took charge of their programme two seasons ago. Go back three years, and Glenwood would have considered a draw a victory, but their disappointment in Thursday’s results revealed the standard to which the players now hold themselves.
“It was a cynical foul at the end there to give away the penalty stroke,” Naidoo admitted candidly. “That’s a disappointment, but I also think we’ve been close in the past two games against two teams we shouldn’t be close to, with those teams, Maritzburg College and Clifton, ranked among the top 15 in the country, and both are having cracker seasons.
“In the past five days, the boys have put in two big shifts. It shows character to come from behind in both games to get the draws. Props to the boys, they’re digging deep and giving everything. They’re well-conditioned.”
Naidoo revealed the talent that lies in the Glenwood ranks, explaining: “It’s a very young side, with four matrics. A couple of the guys are in grade 9 and grade 10, so there’s a lot to look forward to in the future.”
Good leadership has also helped Glenwood make up ground on other teams, he added: “We’ve got good leaders. Our Deputy Head Boy [Murray Wicks] leads the side, and there are good prefects around him as well.”
He concluded: “There is good energy around the programme at the moment. There’s a nice vibe and atmosphere. The future is bright. The boys can see that, and they’re hungry for it.”
