Jeppe tackles Westville, Parktown hosts KES in Gauteng hockey clashes
Jeppe High School for Boys will have a point to prove on Saturday morning when they take on Westville Boys’ High on the Boden AstroTurf.
Catch the action live at 10:00 on Saturday on SuperSport Schools
Jeppe, under coach Siya Sityana, enters the match on the back of an unusually large defeat, having gone down 1-4 to St David’s Marist Inanda in their most recent outing. As a hockey school, they boast a proud record and a gritty reputation, so Westville can expect a strong response from the home side.
Since Sityana took charge this year, Jeppe has contested two high-profile festivals, the Nomads Festival, at Maritzburg College, and the KES Easter Festival.
At College, they made a slow start, losing their first three matches, but they finished on an optimistic note, recording victories in their last two outings.
Closer to home, at KES, they claimed three wins, beating Waterkloof 4-1, along with a pair of 2-0 victories over St Charles College and Eldoraigne. There were also losses by one goal to Rondebosch (0-1) and Kearsney College (1-2).
However, a 1-0 win over St Stithians last weekend, at home, was cause for optimism, before the surprisingly big setback against St David’s.
Meanwhile, the Griffin also head into the contest off the back of a loss, although, truth be told, it was not totally unexpected, as they went down 1-3 to Durban High School, who have, so far, won every one of their matches this season, in a high-quality clash at The Coliseum.
Westville, though, has displayed some good form in 2024. They opened the season with a 2-0 win over Michaelhouse and then won all of their matches on the first two days of the Coastal Cup, grabbing a narrow 1-0 win over Pearson, winning 2-0 against Paarl Boys’ High, and outplaying Waterkloof 4-0.
On day three, however, they suffered a surprising defeat to a good Garsfontein team, going down 1-3.
It’s tough game to pick a favourite. Jeppe has been inconsistent this season, while Westville has stumbled recently. Still, they’re both capable of producing very good hockey.
Parktown Boys’ High hosts King Edward VII on Saturday and that should be a keenly contested clash. Both started their seasons slowly in the Founders and Nomads festivals respectively, but they were much better at the KES Easter Festival that followed.
Check out their game at 10:45 on Saturday on SuperSport Schools.
