Matthew Cross leads Central Gauteng A to u16 title
Matthew Cross registered a hat-trick as Central Gauteng A edged out Western Province A in a closely contested final at the 2024 Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in Buffalo City on Wednesday. The two sides delivered a humdinger in the Joan Harrison East Pool.
There was little to separate the teams, with Central Gauteng sneaking a penalty shootout win, 4-3 from the spot. Final score: Central Gauteng (4) 9-9 (3) Western Province.
Siya Guzana’s side enjoyed a great run at the showpiece event and remained unbeaten throughout. The Gauteng coach has consistently stated that he sees sport as an opportunity for his charges to share experiences and for experiences to come to them. Now, his team has achieved the highest experience possible at the IPT in their age group.
Guzana doesn’t dwell on the match too much when his side is not at practice or in the contest. His parting shot with them before retiring for bed on the eve of the final was to remind them about the importance of making use of the opportunities that come their way.
“I told them that we were lucky enough to get this opportunity. Now what was left was for us to make use of it,” he shared after his charges had clinched the gold medals.
Central Gauteng came out firing on all cylinders, but their opponents were in the same frame of mind. Coach Ross van Schoor’s side gave as good as they received.
Western Province applied early pressure, forcing Dylan Wiggill into a save of a five-meter penalty shot from Benjamin Bigara. The Cape side tested Gauteng’s defences, but it was Gauteng who drew first blood through Matthew Cross.
James Malan, the Western Province captain, equalised for his side early into the second half. That goal was the first of five goals on the bounce in the chukka as Van Schoor’s side romped to a 5-1 lead. Danilo Giuricich pulled one back to send the teams into halftime with Province 5-2 to the good.
“I reminded them of the journey they have been on this year – what they have been doing at practice, all the hours they have invested, all the sessions they turned up for, and the balancing of studies and sport. They worked hard to get to the final and this was the time for them to leave it all in the pool,” Guzana shared about his half-time talk.
His charges came out for the second half in unstoppable form and turned the tide by scoring three goals, which went unanswered, to level the scores at 5-5. However, Central Gauteng wasn’t on equal terms for long. Western Province fired two more past Wiggill to take the lead once more. However, Guzana’s boys pulled one goal back to trail just 6-7 heading into the final chukka.
Early in that last quarter, Central Gauteng exerted pressure on Western Province, and they were rewarded with a goal. Van Schoor’s team responded again, edging two goals clear, 9-7 ahead with less than a minute to play.
Craig Toet, who was a regular goal scorer for Central Gauteng through the tournament, scored only one goal in the final, but it was a crucial strike, which brought his team back to within a goal of Province. It also breathed new life into Gauteng’s challenge. They kept pressing and were rewarded with an equaliser five seconds from the end of regulation time.
Western Province took the first shot in the penalty shootout. For the first three sets of penalty-takers, all went according to plan as they slotted their opportunities. Matt Fenn, Province’s leading goal scorer, took the fourth penalty. He had scored the first one in the shootout, but this time Wiggill denied him with a great save.
Cooper Hayworth had an opportunity to win it for Central Gauteng and he grabbed it, firing the ball past Michael Mafunda to claim victory for his team.
“Our goal for this tournament was to help these boys grow. My primary focus is on building young adults and future leaders and Samaritans in society. This achievement, winning the trophy, gives them a platform from which to share this experience with someone else and help them see what is possible with hard work and dedication,” Guzana reflected.
His refusal to focus on results, but rather to work on the process allowed his side to play the best water polo they could. They played with joy and freedom and it brought them the title of champions of South Africa.
SCORES
Final: Western Province A 9 (3): Benjamin Bigara (2), James Malan (2), Matthew Fenn (1), James Pinnock (1), Timothy Young (1), Connor Mortlock (1), Alex Barrett (1). Central Gauteng A 9 (4): Matthew Cross (3), Cooper Haworth (2), Craig Toet (1), Aiden Khoury (1), Danillo Giuricich (1), David Latilla-Campbell (1).
3rd/4th: KwaZulu Natal 9: Thomas Francke (3), Thomas Aylward (3), Musawenkosi Mponda (1), Levi Thom (1), Garrick Phillips (1). Northerns A 5: James King (2), Ben Swarts (2), Ruan Engelbrecht (1).
5th/6th: Central Gauteng B 6: Matthew Peacock (2), Tegan Fisher (1), Ethan Kempen (1), Peter Zigiriadis (1), Travis Kempen (1). Nelson Mandela Bay 10: Dane Paterson (2), Carter Rosser (2), Johan Moolman (2), Stefan Polderman (1), Tiago Williams (1), Jade Paterson (1), Taye Colesky (1).
7th/8th: Western Province B 7: Rupert Robinson (4), Ross Prinsloo (2), Noah Viuff (1). Zimbabwe 6: Patrick Duff (2), Daniel Oxden-Willow (1), Blaise Scheepers (1), Liam Chicksen (1), Bongani Dube (1).
9th/10th: Eden Districts 5: Luca Whitehead (3), Jacob Hersch (1), Rorke Bubanj (1). Buffalo City 6: Daniel Woodin (3), Joshua Lentz (2), Nicholas du Toit (1).
11th/12th: Eastern Gauteng 10: Connor Cockcroft (3), Campbell Hustler (2), Matthew Craukamp (2), Remo Ferrari (1), Andrew Castley (1), Daniel Rheeder (1). Northerns B 1: Jean Engelbrecht.
