Grey High Water Polo Tournament finalists confirmed
Grey High School and St Andrew’s College made history on Saturday, day three of the Grey High Water Polo Tournament, by securing their places in the final of the inaugural event in Gqeberha.
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They were the only unbeaten teams left in the tournament after dominating the field from the get-go.
Drawn in Pool A, St Andrew’s breezed through their pool assignments. In their final group match, they thumped Pearson High 12-1. Grey, meanwhile, put 14 goals past Stirling High to set up a quarterfinal clash with Hudson Park.
With semi-final places on the line, the duo upped the ante. St Andrew’s executed their job proficiently against Paarl Boys’ High, beating the Western Cape side 9-2, while Hudson was on the receiving end of a hefty 2-16 loss to Grey.
In the other quarterfinals, Woodridge College showed fight and grit to outplay Glenwood House 5-1 before an Adam Brown-inspired Reddam House Constantia side brushed off Pearson High 7-3.
Those results set the stage for interesting semifinals, with the four qualifiers having stood out as the strongest quartet in the tournament.
Grey High, with their schoolmates in the stands to support them, was confident, and coach Ridge Snelling‘s team delivered another magnificent performance.
They made their intentions clear early on, rocketing into a 6-0 lead after the first chukka. The competition was even in the second quarter, with both Grey and Woodridge netting three times, leaving the home side 8-3 clear at halftime.
The second half, though, was all about Grey, and Dane Paterson was at the forefront of their attack. They outscored Woodridge by a further five goals to two on their way to a 13-5 victory.
St Andrew’s, meanwhile, was made to work harder for their 13-10 win over Reddam House in the second semi.
It was a tussle throughout, and both sides had to be strong defensively early in the game. St Andrew’s held a slender 7-5 lead at the break, but Reddam came out firing in the second half.
They scored five times, and St Andrew’s netted four goals to make it 11-10 to the Makhanda school. It went down to the final chukka where late goals from Murray Copeland and Luke Parker sealed the win for College.
The final day’s action kicks off with a meeting between Stirling and the Grey Invitational team at 07:00.
Day 3 Results
St Andrew’s 12-1 Pearson High
Grey High 14-2 Stirling High
Glenwood House 9-4 Paarl Boys’ High
Woodridge 11-3 Grey Invitational
Playoffs
St Andrew’s 9-2 Paarl Boys’ High (Quarterfinal 1)
Grey High 16-2 Hudson (Quarterfinal 2)
Woodridge 5-1 Glenwood (Quarterfinal 3)
Reddam House 7-3 Pearson (Quarterfinal 4)
Grey High 13-5 Woodridge (Semifinal 1)
St Andrew’s 13-10 Reddam House (Semifinal 2)
Day 4 Fixtures
07:00 – Grey Invitational vs Stirling High (9th/10th)
08:00 – Hudson Park vs Paarl Boys’ High (7th/8th)
09:00 – Pearson High vs Glenwood House (5th/6th)
10:00 – Woodridge College vs Reddam House (3rd/4th)
11:00 – Grey High vs St Andrew’s (Final)
12:00 – Prize giving
