KZN Coastal A crowned 2025 SASHOC national champion
The 2025 u16 Girls’ SASHOC National Week concluded on Hilton College‘s Mansergh Astro on Sunday, with KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A being crowned the national champion.
KZN Coastal A and Eastern Province (EP) A put together exceptional runs through the group stages, although EP’s run of wins was halted in their last pool stage outing when Southern Gauteng scored a surprise 2-0 victory.
The KZN Coastal girls, though, enjoyed a perfect run. They went a perfect five from five in their group games and then won the semi-final and final to finish with seven wins from seven outings.
They started with a 3-0 win over the KZN Coastal B side before edging out their neighbours, KZN Inland A, 1-0 in their second game.
Coach Yoche Blair’s side maintained their solid form, with a 4-2 win over Boland B before an even more convincing 3-0 defeat of Boland A. They were pushed hard by Northern Gauteng A but came away with a 2-1 win in their last group match.
In the semi-finals, they brushed aside Western Province, winning 3-1. On Sunday, in the title-decider, they produced a convincing 4-2 win over Eastern Province, the defending champions.
Charley-Rose Boyall, the tournament’s top goal scorer, with nine, rose to the occasion, scoring twice to lead her team from the front. Asanele Zuma and Zenokuhle Mbhele also added their names to the scoresheet as the local lasses dominated.
Eastern Province A, who had looked unstoppable for much of the tournament, showed heart and fight in the final. Lucy Holderness and Kiyara Constable both netted, but KZN Coastal enjoyed the edge throughout.
Boland A claimed third place after beating Western Province A in a penalty shootout. Initially, their playoff ended in a 1–1 draw after a tight encounter in which Nicola van der Merwe scored for Boland and Bea van den Berg netted for Western Province.
Daniella Grobbelaar scored the only goal of the game as Northern Gauteng A edged out KZN Inland A 1-0 to take fifth place.
Seventh went to Southern Gauteng A. They shared a goalless draw with Southern Free State A but then triumphed 4-2 in a penalty shootout.
It was tight in the battle for ninth and tenth, which was also decided after a shootout. KZN Coastal B and Boland B drew 1-1, with Isabella Slater scoring for Coastal and Miné King doing the trick for Boland. Coastal, then, took the shootout 4-2.
Eastern Gauteng A picked a good time to score their first win of the tournament, handing Southern Gauteng B a 1-0 loss, thanks to a lone goal from Carmen Venter.
RESULTS
Final: Eastern Province A 2: Lucy Holderness, Kiyara Constable. KZN Coastal A 2: Charley-Rose Boyall (X2), Asanele Zuma, Zenokuhle Mbhele.
3rd and 4th: Boland A 1: Nicola van der Merwe. Western Province A 1: Bea van den Berg.
5th and 6th: KZN Inland A 0: Northern Gauteng A 1: Daniella Grobbelaar.
7th and 8th: Southern Gauteng A 0 (4): Southern Free State A 0 (2).
9th and 10th: KZN Coastal B 1 (4): Isabella Slater. Boland B 1 (2): Miné King.
11th and 12th: Southern Gauteng B 0: Eastern Gauteng A 1: Carmen Venter.
