Mamaregane inspires Central Gauteng to Currie Cup glory
Central Gauteng’s centre-back, and utility player, Karabo Mamaregane, netted a hattrick of goals to lead his team to a spirited 8-6 win over KwaZulu-Natal in the final of the South African Junior Water Polo Championships in East London on Saturday.
The protagonists entered the final playing some of their best water polo of the tournament.
Coach Rob Ambler’s KwaZulu-Natal outfit went unbeaten throughout the round-robin stages, which included a 12-8 win over Central Gauteng
Meanwhile, despite losing two of their round-robin matches, Gauteng was not to be denied. They showed grit and BMT in their semi-final to outplay tournament favourites, Western Province, 10-5.
In the final, Gauteng, under the guidance of coach Jon-Marc de Carvalho, trailed early on, with KZN sprinting into a 2-0 lead through goals by Tristan Uys, and James Pohl.
Gauteng quickly recovered, however, netting two of their own, through Jack Wilkins and Greg Pryce.
Regular goal scorer, Ross Stuart then gave Gauteng the lead, scoring against the run of play, to see his side 3-2 to the good after eight minutes.
The second and third chukkas were heated, with both coaches showing signs of agitation on the sidelines.
Stuart added a second before Mamaregane got in on the action to open up a 5-4 lead at the break after Oliver Ditz and Max Scully had pulled two goals back for KZN.
The third chukka looked like it would end scoreless, but James Pohl, then, struck for KZN.
With the scores tied at 5-5 and heading into the last eight minutes of the final, Zico Williams stepped up on the big stage, striking from a half-chance to get his name on the score sheet for a second day running, much to the delight of the travelling fans in the stands.
The final chukka was all about Mamaregane, though. Two opportunities came his way, and he calmly made them count, firing two spectacular shots into the back of the KZN net.
Try as they might, KZN were shut down as Gauteng shot-stopper, Judah Dos Santos pulled of a number of vital late saves to keep his team in front.
Reacting to the game, coach De Carvalho said he was pleased with how his side bounced back after losing round-robin matches against Western Province and KZN.
“I was really impressed with the guys. Obviously, you never want a defeat in any tournament, but as soon as we played and got beaten, we had to look at ourselves and shift the focus to Friday afternoon and Saturday morning,” he told SuperSport Schools.
“We had to do our job and business to get into the semi-finals, and from then on it was anyone’s game. We knew we were good enough to beat any team. We just really had to believe [it].
“The loss against KZN on the first day lifted the spirits in the team, and we pulled it back from there.
“It took two unbelievable performances from the guys, and they pulled it off. Also, credit to both Province and KZN. Those were hard-fought games, but I’m happy we were the ones who came out on top,” he concluded.
In the third/fourth place match, Western Provine battled hosts, Buffalo City.
Province never got out of first gear, but they delivered a well-structured and solid performance to record a 13-6 victory over coach Khanyisa Mpumlwana’s troops.
Buffalo City, meanwhile, will be happy with the strides they made in the tournament, which bodes well for the Inter-Provincial Tournament at the end of the year.
Scorers
Final
Central Gauteng 8: Karabo Mamaregane (x3), Ross Stuart (x2), Jack Wilkins, GregPryce, Zico Williams. KwaZulu-Natal 6: James Pohl (x2), Tristan Uys (x2), Max Scully, Oliver Ditz.
Third place
Western Province 13: Ross Stewart (x3), Zack Cicero (x2), Nicholas Fall (x2), Salahuddin Khan (x2), Connor Melling-Williams, Thomas Truter, Matthew De Villiers, Arkin Marais. Buffalo City: Kairon Roux (x3), Sean Audie, Armand Van Rooyen, Connor Maree.
Final Standings
Central Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Western Province
Buffalo City
Nelson Mandela Bay
Northern Tigers
