Herselman and Kariko inspire Northwood and Glenwood to big wins
Ryan Herselman helped Northwood to celebrate their Old Boys’ Day in style by scoring a brace in a 4-2 win over Maritzburg College on the Jones Astro on Saturday.
Luc Boyall and Jordan Hatcher added the Knights’ other goals.
In Pietermaritzburg, Glenwood romped to a 4-1 win over St Charles on the Beckett Astro, while Hilton College secured a 3-2 win over Pretoria Boys’ High (PBHS) in Pretoria. King Edward VII (KES) enjoyed a fruitful trip to KwaZulu-Natal, edging out Westville Boys’ High 1-0.
“It’s always nice to celebrate on our Old Boys’ Day with a victory,” Justin Collins, the Northwood coach, told SuperSport Schools News.
“It gives us a little more momentum for next weekend. But big respect to College. They really played a good shape and a good system. They came out and put us under pressure for long periods.”
Maritzburg College seemed unfazed by the overwhelming support that had turned up to back Northwood and applied pressure in the early moments of the match. However, the hosts, buoyed by their home support, were in no mood to squander chances.
They created a single opportunity against the run of play three minutes into the encounter and converted it. That goal injected a sense of purpose into the Knights, who found the back of the net again with just over six minutes remaining in the chukka.
At halftime, Northwood made a couple of tweaks to their approach, and they paid off. They scored their third goal seven minutes into the third chukka, but College, who were down but are never out, pulled a goal back four minutes later.
“I thought the boys were nice and calm and connected well in the second half. It helped to put us in a really good space to win the game,” Collins said.
While Northwood reestablished a three-goal cushion shortly before the end of the third chukka, Maritzburg College had the final say, collecting their second goal in the last chukka, but it wasn’t enough.
Glenwood High vs St Charles College
Glenwood arrived at the Beckett Astro smarting from a home loss at the hands of Hilton College, in which they squandered a 2-0 lead and succumbed to a 3-5 defeat. Unlike their outing against Hilton, Glenwood started on the back foot against St Charles.
“We struggled to get the momentum in that first half. It just felt like the boys were flat,” Braydon Naidoo, the Glenwood Director of Hockey, reflected. After an uninspiring first half, it was goalless midway through the match.
During their halftime talk, the coaching staff exhorted the Glenwood players to pick up the tempo. They responded with a flurry of goals in the third chukka.
Xaydon Kariko, the star of the show, started the ball rolling by locating Daniel Ruiters at the back post, and he flipped it home as the goalkeeper tried to close him down. Kariko then doubled the lead with a cool finish before St Charles could formulate a response.
The double-strike swung the momentum in Glenwood’s favour, and they happily rode the wave.
“I think as the game went on, we just wore them down a little bit, and the game opened up for us. And with our style of hockey, moving the ball and going for it quickly, it helped us,” Naidoo said.
It didn’t take long before Kariko registered his brace, again showing composure before picking his spot and scoring. Ithani Doyi, who was celebrating his birthday, put the cherry on top by scoring Glenwood’s fourth goal.
Blake Francis netted a consolation penalty stroke for Saints on the final whistle.
Results
Northwood 4-2 Maritzburg College
KES 1-0 Westville
Glenwood 4-1 St Charles
Hilton 3-2 Pretoria Boys High
