Grey College triumphs over Grey High, Selborne dominates Queen’s
A first-half goal by Grey College’s Dayne Kitching secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for the Free State side against their arch-rivals, Grey High School, in their annual interschools derby clash on Friday night in Bloemfontein.
College, who entered the game intent on reversing last year’s 0-1 defeat in Gqeberha, needed only Kitching’s strike to claim the win.
Both teams have enjoyed strong seasons, and both would have been confident ahead of the match.
Coach Andrew Beynon’s Grey High team had only lost three times before their Friday night setback, going down to South African College High School (SACS) twice, and Paul Roos Gimnasium once.
In their other matches, they’ve been free-scoring and they travelled to Bloemfontein as the favourites.
The hosts, on the other hand, had also compiled an impressive record of their own during the second term. College, under the guidance of Wayne Coetzee, had won four of their past five matches. It was only Paarl Gimnasium who stopped their winning streak, holding the Bloemfontein boys to a 1-1 draw, with Matthias Visser scoring a late equaliser for Grey in Paarl in April.
Grey High was without their captain, Kian Cambier, who had been invited to join the SA u21 men’s training camp in Pretoria, so the skipper’s armband was entrusted to Xander Elkington.
The match started slowly, with possession regularly being turned over in the first chukka. Grey High was awarded a penalty corner but failed to convert it into a goal.
Matters livened up in the second chukka. The hosts launched an attack deep into the Grey High half, with good linking play creating a chance for Wian Du Plooy to enter the circle. With few options open around him, he spotted Kitching, who was storming up the pitch, and laid the ball back for him.
Kitching took a couple of steps to enter the circle, and then fired a sweet shot into the bottom right-hand corner, beating SA u17 goalkeeper Kaino Broadhurst, to give his side the lead.
Coach Coetzee’s side grew in confidence after that goal with Ayanda Ngxaki, MJ Bam, and Luke Mosala taking charge of the midfield battle.
Grey High, just before halftime, had another short corner opportunity. This time they went for a variation, with Ben Ristow feeding Elkington, but the skipper’s shot was wide of the mark.
Early in the third chukka, College had an opportunity to extend their lead after Danrich Hoffmann won his side their first penalty corner. Drag flicker Matthias Visser twice had his shots run down by Robbie Stow, which kept the score at 1-0.
The visitors were awarded two more penalty corners, but their execution let them down.
In the final chukka, all College had to do was hold on and keep play away from their circle. They succeeded until there were 36 seconds left to play. Then, Grey High’s Athi Voigt, who was one of the visitors’ standout players, won another PC for his side after a mazy run.
It wasn’t meant to be for the Gqeberha boys and their final attempt, which was another variation, was also wide, which summed up a frustrating day for Elkington and company. It was their first defeat since the Hibbert Shield semi-finals in May.
“I think both teams knew they had to play out of their skins if they wanted to win,” Grey College head coach, Wayne Coetzee, told SuperSport Schools Plus after the match.
“I believe both sides rose to the occasion, but it was always going to come down to moments, because when a game is that close, it’s always about moments.
“Dayne Kitching rose to the occasion and took his moment.
“There was a real opportunity for them to score, and [goalkeeper] Wildré Lloyd was on top of his game, making a save with his stick.
“I’m extremely happy for the boys and super proud as an old boy to be part of Grey College hockey,” he concluded.
Other matches
In Komani, Selborne College picked up their second win of the term when they dismantled Queen’s College 6-1. In their first meeting in East London earlier in the season, Queen’s held Selborne to a 1-1 draw.
The visitors weren’t about to let history repeat itself and were ruthless from the onset.
Both Thomas Caswell and skipper Tre’ Gilbert scored twice, before Cade Kock and Daniel Sirgel hammered the final nails into the Queen’s College coffin to seal victory.
Selborne, next weekend will host Dale College, while Queen’s takes on Merrifield College.
In East London, Stirling continued on their impressive run this term, following up a win over Dale College last week with a 3-1 defeat of Hudson Park 3-1 on Friday.
Hisharm Pillay, who has been at the forefront of the green and white machine’s challenge, scored twice, with Keagan Mattheus netting Stirling’s third.
In Makhanda, both Kingswood College and St Andrew’s College recorded wins.
Kingswood, in their final match of the season, thumped Graeme College 5-0 to sign off in style, while St Andrew’s were made to work hard for a 2-1 win over Dale College.
Woodridge College held Pearson to a 2-2 draw, while during the week Cambridge High made light work of Port Rex Technical High School, beating them 8-0.
RESULTS
St Andrew’s College 2-1 Dale College
Stirling 3-1 Hudson Park
Kingswood College 5-0 Graeme College
Grey High 4-1 Kingswood College
Selborne College 6-1 Queen’s College
Grey College 1-0 Grey High School
Pearson High 2-2 Woodridge College
Cambridge High 8-0 Port Rex THS
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