Kearsney seals a thrilling victory over St Stithians
Kearsney College showed class and resilience in front of their alumni, coming from behind, with two late goals, to clinch a 3-2 win over St Stithians College on the Mason Astro to fuel their Founder Day celebrations on Saturday morning.
“It was a special performance on Old Boys’ Day and the last outing on the home Astro for the matrics,” Joel Steyn, the Kearsney captain, said after the match.
The hosts had to do things the hard way. They fell behind twice but bounced back twice to level before they found the winner.
The triumph demonstrated Kearsney’s principles as a unit. “You can go down, but you must get up and stay in the fight,” Steyn explained.
After a cagey first chukka, St Stithians took the lead through Aiden Blatch, who executed a spectacular tomahawk strike eight minutes into the second chukka. Kearsney responded by applying pressure on the visitors as they went in search of an equaliser. But Saints stood firm at back, calm and composed. At half-time, the visitors led 1-0.
In the third chukka, the game opened up a little more. Still, neither team was able to find a finish. Eventually, though, Kearsney equalised through Keegan de Jager, who converted a penalty corner with a sizzling low shot, six minutes into the fourth chukka.
Almost immediately, Saints struck back, winning themselves a penalty stroke and Blatch stepped up to bury the opportunity and give his side the lead once more.
Kearsney, to their credit, kept fighting, even as time ticked away. Then, two minutes from the end, Aaron Blackburn got onto the end of a diagonal ball into the circle and deflected the ball into the back of the St Stithians’ goalbox.
St Stithians were still reorganising when Kearsney snatched the winner. This time, Ata Mazikbuko delivered the final touch, much to the delight of the packed stands of local supporters.
Saints tried to work their way into the Kearsney circle with less than two minutes remaining. Each time, though, they were stopped, and Keegan de Jager used his massive overheads to relieve the pressure and keep the Johannesburg side at arms’ length.
“This is a result of consistent hard work. No one dropped their heads. We continued with the hard work,” Steyn said, reflecting on a tough season in which Kearsney had suffered some painful losses.
Steyn might have also been describing his team’s attitude in Saturday’s clash. Even when the tide was against them, they stuck to the task and, eventually, they were rewarded.
There are always nerves when one represents one’s school, Steyn said, but there were a few more than usual playing in front of Kearsney’s old boys on Founders Day, including somewho were his teammates in the first team in 2024.
Result
Kearsney 3-2 St Stithians College
