KZN Coastal A outfoxes Northerns to lift Indoor IPT title
KZN Coastal A survived a late scare to edge out Northern Gauteng 4-2 in the u18 boys’ final of the SASHOC Indoor Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT), at Thomas More College‘s iKhwezi Sports Centre, in Kloof, on Thursday.
The hosts played some spectacular hockey during the week on their way to the final. During the group stage, they were unbeaten, recording victories over KZN Coastal B, KZN Invitational, Southern Free State, Northerns, and Southern Gauteng.
In the semi-finals, they brushed aside Southerns 3-0. Northerns, meanwhile, scored a confidence-boosting 5-3 win over KZN Coastal B to reach the title game.
That set the table for a clash of teams who had both scored a bucketload of goals while conceding very few.
The first half belonged to the hosts, and they dominated almost every facet of the game. Under the guidance of captain Bhavesh Naicker, Coastals were in total control, enjoying most of the ball possession and playing the game in the right areas.
Naicker had an early opportunity to open the scoring after winning a penalty stroke for his side, but his shot from the spot was rejected by goalkeeper Reghardt Swart.
It turned out that it wasn’t a consequential miss for KZN Coastal A. Minutes after the penalty stroke, they hit the front through Tyrique Cloete.
Early in the second chukka, they doubled their tally after great inter-link play between Mesuli Msomi and Naicker, with Naicker providing a simple finish from close range.
Just three minutes later, Msomi was on the end of a speedy and spectacular counterattack, providing an assured finish to put Coastals on cruise control, up 3-0 after only 15 minutes. That was their lead at the halftime break, too.
Despite trailing by three goals, Northerns still had plenty in the tank. The adapted their approach in the third chukka and began to ask more questions of the hosts.
Douw Nel made an impact with his strong runs and threatened the Coastals’ defenders with his sharp stick skills. He, also, pulled a goal back for his team from a short corner.
Then, with KZN Coastal A one player down, co-captain, Lesego Msiza, made it a one-goal game by exploiting his side’s numerical advantage and flipping a reverse stick shot just beyond the reach of goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter.
Discipline, though, let down Northerns’ quest to stage a comeback, and Msiza was shown a yellow card in the 36th minute.
Coastals pounced on the one-man advantage and closed the game off with a late strike from their top goal scorer, Jaiden Krambeck.
Northerns’ marksman Douw Nel ended the tournament as the top goal scorer with an astounding 15 goals, while Krambeck finished with nine.
The bronze medal went to Southern Gauteng, who beat KZN Coastal B 4-1 to claim a place on the podium.
Milan Stipcevich was the star of the show, bagging a hat-trick, while Borateng Selebogo scored his first of the tournament.
KZN Invitational signed off their campaign with a resounding 7-2 win over Southern Free State to finish in fifth place.
U18 FINAL STANDINGS
KZN Coastal A
Northern Gauteng
Southern Gauteng
KZN Coastal B
KZN Invitational
Southern Free State
RESULTS
u18
Southern Gauteng 4 (Milan Stipcevich 3, Borateng Selebogo) KZN Coastals B 1 (Daniel Holiday)
KZN Invitational 7 (Samkelo Mgwaba 2, Ryan Herselman 2, Blake Herselman, Eben Peters, Adam Venter) Southern Free State 2 (CJ van Schalkwyk, Aobakwe Phengu)
KZN Coastal 4 (Bhavesh Naicker, Tyrique Cloete, Mesuli Msomi, Jaiden Krambeck) Northern Gauteng 2 (Douw Nel, Lesego Msiza)
u16
Southern Free State 1 (Karabo Nthute) Southern Gauteng B 1 (Jacobus van der Merwe)
KZN Coastal B 7 (Hamza Amla 4, Luqmaan Mohomed, Thomas Schulze, Khulekani Zuma) Northern Gauteng B 4 (Zeann Marais 2, Mark du Bruyn, Kgolagano Bontshoza)
Southern Gauteng 5 (Kamohelo Tsoka 2, Katiso Letuka 2, Tanner Napier) KZN Inland A 4 (Santiago Matroos 4)
KZN Coastal A 2 (Sisekelo Mbutho, Dylan Forbes) Northern Gauteng 1 (Kean Cornelissen)
u14
KZN Inland A 5 (Zipho Fakude 2, Murangi Magondo, Corban Emerson, Bunono Zitumane) Northern Gauteng B 1 (Maredi Letsoalo)
Northern Gauteng A 3 (Sven van Eyssen, Tendekai Chikosha, Zander Ladiellis) KZN Coastal B 2 (Slater Haynes, Rowan den Bakker)
Southern Free State 3 Southern Gauteng 2 (Scorers TBC)
