Goals, comebacks and blowouts on second day of Saints Festival
Thursday’s action at the Standard Bank St Stithians Hockey Festival provided spectators with thrilling encounters that showcased everything, including close contests, comebacks, and blowouts.
The annual event, which began on Wednesday, finishes on Saturday, although the participating schools will put their feet up on Good Friday.
Garsfontein, Epworth, Springfield, and DSG Makhanda all won one and drew one on day two. Menlopark and Waterkloof each won one and lost one, while St Stithians drew both their matches. The St Stithians’ Festival XI and Beaulieu College lost twice.
Garsfontein enjoyed a fruitful second day of the festival after an underwhelming showing on day one, which included a 0-3 defeat at the hands of DSG Makhanda. They slept off the loss and began Thursday on a positive note.
Kristen Baker and Daniella Grobbelaar fired two early goals for coach Charlene Jonsson’s side against Epworth School in their first contest of the day, which gave Garsies a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Epworth has enjoyed a good season so far. The Pietermaritzburg school is one of the sides that has booked a place in the Grand Finals of the Spar KZN Hockey Tournament after winning their regional event. On the opening day at Saints, they beat Beaulieu 4-1.
Down at the break, they came back strongly in the second half against Garsfontein and were able to force a 2-2 draw.
Jonsson said Garsfontein focused on being process-driven and making positive connections from their outlet to set a solid base from which to attack. They also sought to maintain possession for longer phases of the game.
“We also focused on being aggressive in the attacking third of the field and rewarded ourselves with more outcomes in the circle, which paid off today,” Jonsson told Supersport Schools Plus.
The results of that approach were apparent in their second outing. The Anjone Lourens-captained outfit romped to a 3-0 win over Voortrekker (Bethlehem), courtesy of goals from Paige Marais, Mienke Pieterse, and Emma van Rooyen.
St Stithians’ Old Girls provided wholesome entertainment when they took to the field to remind the learners and spectators that they still have the skills that earned them the privilege to represent the school in hockey. The Alumni Ladies went 1-0 up in the second quarter of their game against the St Stithians Festival XI.
The veterans fended off all attempts at an equaliser from the Festival XI. However, they weren’t just interested in defending their 1-0 lead. They made numerous excursions into the Festival XI’s final third and were rewarded with four more goals in the final chukka as they cantered to a 5-1 win.
Menlopark showed patience in their build-up play and produced a disciplined defensive performance when they went up against Voortrekker (Bethlehem). Coach Brad Brook’s side operated efficiently as a unit on their way to a 3-1 victory over the ladies from the Free State.
Their captain, Zoë Badenhorst, was on the end of a brilliant team effort, which began from the back and resulted in her receiving a pass near the penalty spot. She grabbed the opportunity to score.
Mika Loots put Menlo 2-0 up when she pounced on a penalty corner rebound and Monique Gerber held her nerve to convert a penalty stroke.
The hosts, St Stithians, wrapped up the day with a tightly contested game against DSG Makhanda. Although both stretched each other’s defences, neither could find the key to unlock a path to the goal and their match ended 0-0.
RESULTS
St Stithians Festival Team 2-1 Beaulieu
Garsfontein 2-2 Epworth
Menlopark 3-1 Voortrekker
St Stithians 0-0 Springfield
DSG Makhanda 1-0 Waterkloof
Epworth 2-0 St Stithians Festival XI
Garsfontein 3-0 Voortrekker (Bethlehem)
Springfield 1-0 Menlopark
Waterkloof 3-1 Beaulieu
St Stithians Ladies Alumni 5-1 St Stithians Festival XI
St Stithians 0-0 DSG Makhanda
FIXTURES
Saturday
08:00 – Epworth vs Menlopark, 08:45 – Waterkloof vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 10:15 – St Stithians Festival XI vs Springfield, 11:00 – St Stithians vs Epworth, 12:15 – Beaulieu vs DSG Makhanda, 13:30 – St Stithians College vs Waterkloof, 14:45 – Springfield vs Garsfontein, 15:30 – Menlopark vs DSG Makhanda, 15:45 – Beaulieu vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem), 18:00 – St Stithians College vs Garsfontein.
