Local teams into Cape Town International Hockey Tournament semis
After heavy rainfall resulted in day two of the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament being called off, the third day of action delivered scintillating hockey in wet conditions as four Western Cape sides booked their places in the semi-finals of the tournament on Friday afternoon.
Defending champions, South African College High School (SACS), defeated Durbanville High 7-2 in their quarterfinal. Meanwhile, Parel Vallei (PV) claimed the scalp of Repton A, beating the UK side 4-1.
Both sides from the Boland area, Paarl Gimnasium and Paul Roos Gimnasium, also secured their spots in the final four, beating Repton B 5-1 and Worcester Gimnasium 8-0 respectively.
SACS will take on coach Michael van Rensburg‘s PV side in the first semi, before a clash of the rivals when Paarl Gim and Paul Roos meet in the second semi-final on Sunday morning.
Road to the last four
To reach the last four, coach Sam Holmes’ SACS side powered their way through their pool, recording four wins and scoring 27 goals without conceding.
After impressive victories on the opening day in which they beat Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool 5-0 and Bridge House 7-0, they returned on day three to put eight past Repton B, before concluding their pool obligations with a 7-0 thumping of Curro Durbanville.
Adan Thompson (2), Regan Wille (3), and Litha Kraai (3) were to the fore in their big win over Repton B, while, against Curro, Kraai and Jo le Roux both netted twice, while Aiden Hughes, Mohlodi Maseko, and Daniel Graser also got their names onto the score sheet.
In Parel Vallei, who are under the guidance of Michael van Rensburg, they come up against a team that’s hungry to cause an upset. Like their girls’ team, PV has yet to taste defeat at the tournament, and posted three wins and a draw in their four pool matches.
In their quarterfinal clash, they had to get past a gritty Repton A side, but a double from the young and exciting Luka Meets, plus further goals from Sibulele Makeleni and Tristan Rautenbach, took them to a convincing 4-1 victory.
Meanwhile, coach Michael Baker’s Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) young guns shrugged off their opening day defeat against Repton A, and on Friday played an exciting brand of hockey, which launched them to the top of Pool C.
In their first encounter of the day, they defeated Hoërskool Outeniqua 6-1, with skipper Christo Swanepoel and Callum van Oudtshoorn striking twice each. Seth Paterson and Logan Lackay completed the drubbing.
Then, a 2-1 win over Somerset College set them up for a date with Worcester Gimnasium in the last eight.
PRG started slowly, but then dialled up the intensity to power their way to an 8-0 quarterfinals’ win.
Swanepoel, who represented the Boland u18A side at the SASHOC National Week and was selected for the SA Schools u17 side, scored a hattrick. Ruben Gouws, Ruan Strauss, Charles Lombard, Tylor Carter and Van Oudtshoorn netted the other goals.
Standing in their way for a place in the title-decider is coach Jacques Grobler’s Paarl Gimnasium team.
They’ve been one of the standout sides of the tournament and finished the pool stage with an unbeaten record, scoring 18 times while conceding only twice.
Gimmies, captained by LD Nel, beat Durbanville 1-0 on Friday before ruthlessly thumping Uppingham 5-0.
Gim dangerman, Juan Swanepoel, who this week was named in the Namibia u18A side, scored three goals in the two matches.
In the quarterfinal vs Repton B, Gim trailed 0-1 early on, but a Stephan Pieterse hattrick and goals from Nel and Johann van der Merwe sealed a comfortable 5-1 win for coach Grobler’s troops.
The action resumes on Sunday in Stellenbosch with SACS, Parel Vallei, Paul Roos and Paarl Gim all eyeing a place in the final and an opportunity to claim the silverware.
RESULTS – DAY THREE
Pool A
Windhoek High School 1-1 Worcester Gymnasium
Parel Vallei 3-0 Paarl Boys High
Worcester Gymnasium 7-0 Stewart’s Melville College
Paarl Boys High 1-0 Windhoek High School
Parel Vallei 6-0 Stewart’s Melville College
Pool B
SACS 8-0 Repton B
Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool 4-0 Bridge House
SACS 7-0 Curro Durbanville
Repton B 6-1 Bridge House
Curro Durbanville 2-2 Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool
Pool C
Repton A 2-0 Reddam House Constantia
Paul Roos Gimnasium 6-1 Hoërskool Outeniqua
Somerset College 4-3 Repton A
Paul Roos Gimnasium 2-1 Somerset College
Hoërskool Outeniqua 3-3 Reddam House Constantia
Pool D
Uppingham 3-0 Windhoek Gymnasium
Durbanville High 1-0 Western Province Invitational
Paarl Gimnasium 1-0 Durbanville High
Western Province Invitational 1-0 Windhoek Gymnasium
Paarl Gimnasium 6-0 Uppingham
Quarterfinal results
Parel Vallei 4-1 Repton A
SACS 7-2 Durbanville High
Worcester Gimnasium 0-8 Paul Roos
Paarl Gimnasium 5-1 Repton B
Semi-final fixtures
10:10 – SACS vs Parel Vallei @Maties A
10:10 – Paul Roos vs Paarl Gimnasium @Maties B
17:40 – Final @Maties A
Click the link for all the fixtures: Cape Town International Hockey Tournament
The images used in the article are credited to Ray Chaplin. For more information about Ray Chaplin, please visit: https://yourphotos.raychaplin.photography/
