Herschel and Affies set to lock horns for Challengers’ Cup title
Herschel Girls School continued their fine form at the Challengers’ Cup on Saturday and booked themselves a place in the final of the tournament, at La Rochelle Girls’ High, in Paarl.
The Cape Town school defeated St Mary’s Waverley 2-0 in the semifinals, setting up a title game against Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Affies) at 11:20 on Sunday.
Catch all the playoff action LIVE on the SuperSport Schools App.
The journey to the title-deciding clash was similar for both sides, with both dominating during the group stage while playing attractive hockey and scoring numerous goals.
They were both in Pool B, which Herschel topped after four wins in five matches, while Affies picked up three wins and 10 points to occupy second place.
In the semifinals, they faced St Mary’s and Hoërskool Garsfontein respectively, the top two teams from Pool A.
Herschel made a cracking start in their showdown with St Mary’s and opened the scoring with a well-worked field goal, netted by Anna Sherren, after only six minutes.
It was evenly contested after that, and it took Herschel another 32 minutes before they doubled their lead through Katie Featherstone, who converted from a short corner opportunity.
St Mary’s, the 2024 runner-up, gave it all they had but were kept out by Herschel’s stubborn defence.
Sunday’s final will be Herschel’s second of the season. They reached the final of the Belgotex Sport Girls Challenge in May but were beaten on penalties by Paarl Gimnasium.
Affies faced a familiar Pretoria rival when they met Garsies in the semi-finals. When the teams met a week ago in the Pullen Cup final, in Johannesburg, Affies scored a 2-0 victory.
It was much closer on Saturday, however, and the contest went down to the wire. Mia Pretorius scored early for Affies before Daniella Grobbelaar equalised in the 40th minute.
After regulation time ended at 1-1, a penalty shootout was required to separate the sides. Affies, who placed fourth in 2024, held their nerve and secured a slim 1-0 win to book their place in the final.
Day 3 | Results – Group stage playoffs
Parel Vallei (2) 1-1 (1) Outeniqua
Durban Girls’ College 3-0 Fairmont
Herschel 2-0 St Mary’s Waverley
Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0 Springfield
Affies (1) 1-1 (0) Garsfontein
St Cyprian’s School (1) 1-1 (0) Paarl Girls’ High
Day 4 | Fixtures
08:00 – Springfield vs Paarl Girls (11th/12th playoff)
09:00 – Parel Vallei vs Durban Girls College (5th/6th playoff)
09:10 – Rustenburg Girls vs St Cyprian’s School (9th/10th playoff) @Paarl Girls’ High
10:10 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Garsfontein (3rd/4th playoff)
10:20 – Outeniqua vs Fairmont High (7th/8th playoff) @Paarl Girls’ High
11:20 – Herschel vs Affies (Final)
