Jeppe triumphs in Pretoria as Saints and St John’s march on
One of Jeppe’s most experienced players, Jarryd Gordon-Watt, celebrated his 100th appearance for the school in style after helping the side to a 4-1 victory against Pretoria Boys High School on Saturday.
Jeppe made the trip from Kensington to Pretoria eager to end the term on a high and claim another massive Gauteng scalp in the process.
Heading into the clash, the boys, led by coach Gareth Heyns, had beaten St John’s College 3-0 and Northwood School 1-0, while Boys High were held to a goalless draw by Michaelhouse and went down 2-3 against Hilton College last month.
As in past meetings, it was a heated battle early on, and the two teams took some time to settle into the match.
Jeppe, however, grabbed the lead early in the first chukka after Blake Sartor latched onto a loose ball inside the circle and slammed it past the goalkeeper for the opener.
Gordon-Watt doubled his side’s tally in the second chukka, and the visitors went into the break leading 2-0.
Kade Lottering, who’s scored countless times for Jeppe this year, added his name to the scoresheet with six minutes to play in the third chukka after executing another penalty short corner.
Jeppe scored their final goal in the final chukka when Mthunzi Msibi showed composure inside the circle to seal the win for his side, despite Pretoria Boys High pulling a goal back immediately.
“Achieving 100 caps is a massive achievement for me,” Gordon-Watt said after the game.
“Many boys achieve 50 caps, but the calibre of our hockey programme does not often see many players reach 100 caps.
“To also score on my 100th game was special, and it was an honour playing Pretoria Boys’ High in their reunion.”
While Jeppe got the job done away from home, St John’s were also big winners on the weekend.
They took on St Benedict’s College and recorded a 3-1 win thanks to goals by Ben Nagel, Justin Fairley and Max Pitman.
St David’s Marist Inanda also ticked in the winning column, beating the travelling side, St Charles College, 2-1.
It was skipper Matteo Stipcevich who netted both goals and ensured the boys in yellow clinched their second win in as many days after beating Linden 2-0 during mid-week.
On Friday night, St Stithians College enjoyed a comfortable 5-0 win over Cornwall Hill College at home in an Edgars Friday Nite Lights clash.
Jason Joiner and Sebastien Pousson both scored braces, while Thakgalo Makola also got his name on the scoresheet for coach Pat Owgan’s side
In another clash in Pretoria, Affies kept their unbeaten run in the league intact after beating Menlopark 2-0.
Results
Jeppe 4-1 Pretoria Boys High
St Stithians College 5-0 Cornwall Hill
St David’s Marist Inanda 2-1 St Charles College
St David’s Marist Inanda 2-0 Linden
Affies 2-0 Menlopark
St John’s College 3-1 St Benedict’s College
