Maritzburg College and Pretoria Boys High ready for showdown
Maritzburg College is primed and ready to host Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) in the first leg of their annual two-leg derby on Saturday.
The College-PBHS derby has been a permanent fixture for the two schools for more than a decade and it seldom fails to deliver pyrotechnics.
“Boys High always seem to find an extra gear when they play against us,” remarked Kyle Emerson, the Maritzburg College head coach.
While the KwaZulu-Natal team has a better head-to-head record overall, PBHS has fought back in the past couple of years. In 2022, Jacques Klopper’s charges completed a double over College, beating them home and away. Last year, they shared the spoils, playing to two draws.
PBHS has had a slow start to the 2024 season. They lost 0-1 to Jeppe in their first pre-season match, and that set the tone for a few games that followed, in which they suffered narrow defeats.
“It has taken the boys a little bit of time to find themselves. We have a few new guys in the side, and the unit has taken a while to gel,” said Klopper.
In their most recent encounter, PHBS triumphed 2-1 over St Alban’s. In that match, the Ruard Booysen-captained side played in line with Klopper’s fundamentals. Booysen was part of the SA u17 side that toured Malaysia last year and is one of the mainstays of the team.
Their goalkeeper, Owen McMenamin, was named in the SA u16 squad in 2023, while Marco Upton represented the Northerns U18 side.
While those three had good outings against St Alban’s, the team did not show a heavy reliance on their individual skills. They produced an all-round performance, executing a well-structured pressing game. Klopper hopes they can keep reproduce that in their clash with Maritzburg College.
“College has created a fortress at home. The goal is to breach it,” reckoned Klopper. The best-case scenario would be a repeat of 2022. If not, they would settle for another draw.
However, Emerson’s boys will not make it easy for PBHS. The same intense drive that the Pretoria side brings to the contest is what the College boys will bring. “We know what they bring as a team. We watched them last month during the Nomads Festival. We will be ready for them,” said Emerson.
His young team has been on a building path since the start of the year. They showed progress and growth at the Nomads Festival and took a few more steps forward at the KES Easter Festival.
Their 5-0 win over Glenwood last week was another indicator of how far they have come this season. The Ipeleng Mosupye-led unit will also be buoyed by the return of two players who were sidelined by injury.
However, despite these positives, Emerson remains cautious. “There is never a favourite when we play Boys High,” he opined. “Most of the time, it’s about who arrives with more in the tank on the day.”
His duty, Emerson said, is to ensure that, as the derby day approaches, he gets his team into the best position to be the ones that turn up on matchday.
College and PBHS have a rich shared history, a similar ethos and passion for hockey. They enjoy a great friendship. However, before they share post-match drinks, they’re aiming for fireworks on Pape’s Astro.
Saturday, 11:15 am – Maritzburg College vs PBHS
Teams
Pretoria Boys High School
Owen McMenamin, Cameron Davids, Reatlegile Moloisane, Jayden Boshoff, Robert Hassenkamp, Shaun Riekert, Ruard Booysen, Marco Upton, Jack Funston, Jeron Hugo, Rein Arndt, Brighton Sibiya, Heinke Meijer, Ethan Rademeyer, Takalani Mulaudzi, Neil Ehlers
Maritzburg College
Nicholas Holmes, Greg Askew, Siwa Sithembu, Ipeleng Mosupye (c), Julian Konigkramer, Ryan McKean, Kadin Jenkins, Banele Dlamini, Ethan Maynard, Michael Gibson, Rory Schirge, Matthew Smith, Ethan Fabre, Tai Fulton, Andile Mthalane, Brett Hosking.
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