Kearsney and Michaelhouse set off fireworks in five-goal thriller
Kearsney College and Michaelhouse provided high-quality entertainment on Friday night in a five-goal thriller on the Punchbowl Astro in Balgowan that neutral fans surely enjoyed. It ended in a 3-2 win for Kearsney.
When the sides crossed swords last year, Kearsney edged out Michaelhouse 1-0 in a high-octane contest. The coaches, Ashley Kemp of Kearsney, and Michaelhouse’s Nick Bérichon, expected nothing less this time around.
Kearsney was first out of the blocks with a goal only 30 seconds into the match, when their captain, Matthew Mendes de Oliveira, fired a drag flick into the back of the ‘House net.
That first goal ignited 10 minutes of dominance by Kearsney, during which they were exceptional on attack.
The visitors doubled their lead three minutes later through a field goal by Liam Johnson, off a deflection from around the penalty spot. The third goal came after 10 minutes when Bo Mokoena, mishit a shot in open play, but it caught the keeper flatfooted.
Bérichon’s charges were down but not out. They were not about to roll over in front of a supportive home crowd. They responded superbly, launching wave after wave of attacks towards the Kearsney goal.
When they scored their first goal, the enthusiastic home supporters roared loudly.
Encouraged, Michaelhouse piled on the pressure, forcing Kearsney into making errors. Those mistakes turned to frustration and that frustration led to some rash tackles, which saw some Kearsney players spending time in the sin bin.
At one point, Kemp’s team was two players down after both had earned yellow cards. “We made things difficult for ourselves. We had a couple of shots on target, others off target. We were lazy in possession, once more. I think Michaelhouse was a little more clinical in their possession,” declared Kemp.
Kemp is both a friend and a former teammate of Bérichon, whom he played alongside during their time at Tuks. He expected Michaelhouse to be both aggressive and unrelenting in attack, so he therefore he focused on preparing’s Kearsney deep defence when he prepared his team for the encounter. He was right to do so.
Spurred on by the home crowd, Michaelhouse took the game hard to Kearsney, reversing the momentum of the contest, and they were rewarded once more in the final chukka, to pull within a single goal of the hosts.
“I am excited for the rest of the season. The boys have a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence in goalscoring areas,” Kemp said.
Bérichon, who is in his first season with Michaelhouse, is happy with the progress his team is making.
The home side won two penalty corners and was able to capitalise on them. “We went two from two on penalty corners, so I am happy with that,” he said. “We also managed to create so many great chances towards the end and got close to equalising, but we didn’t execute.”
The Michaelhouse coach was also impressed by the character and resilience his charges exhibited in the match, and is excited for his team, which he expects to come out fighting next weekend against Hilton College.
