Menlopark crowned St Anne’s Cup champions
Die Hoërskool Menlopark produced a composed, skilful, and entertaining performance on their way to lifting the St Anne’s Cup after beating Our Lady of Fatima 2-0 in a scintillating final at St Anne’s, in Hilton, on Sunday.
“I’m extremely proud of our performances this weekend,” Brad Brook, the Menlopark coach, told Supersport Schools Plus.
“We took it one game at a time, relying on our team principles, tons of grit, and sisterhood throughout the weekend.”
After Brook’s charges finished second in Pool A, they had to navigate a path manned by powerhouses from that point onwards. They triumphed 2-1 over last year’s runner-up, Durban Girls’ College, in the quarterfinals and were tested by Free State titans, Eunice, in the semifinals, but advanced after a penalty shootout.
“We are very fortunate to have great depth in our squad with various players putting their hands up and delivering match-winning performances across the five games,” Brook said.
Menlopark’s captain, Zoë Badenhorst, excelled and was named the Striker of the Tournament, while Annika Kloppers took home the Goalkeeper of the Tournament prize. Carlia Potgieter, meanwhile, produced her best performance in the final.
The Pretoria school had the first touch in the title match, and they ensured that they had the ball under their control for the first 35 minutes of the contest.
They won the first of their six penalty corners six minutes into the first chukka, but it came to nought. Shortly after that, they were unable to turn a second set piece into a goal.
Our Lady of Fatima’s goalkeeper Kayla Driver was the main reason why Menlopark was unable to make a breakthrough. She made a handful of outstanding saves to keep the score at 0-0 after the first 15 minutes.
In the second chukka, Menlopark ramped up the intensity. Monique Gerber led the way, tormenting Our Lady of Fatima’s defence as Brooks’ players piled on pressure and won four more penalty corners. Driver, though, stood firm.
However, with only seconds left in the second chukka, Carlia Potgieter struck for Menlopark, getting onto the end of a speculative ball sent from halfway into the Our Lady of Fatima circle. She was in the right place at the right time and helped the ball into the back of the net to give her side a 1-0 lead at halftime.
After the break, Menlopark picked up the tempo and they were soon rewarded with a second goal, just four minutes into the third chukka.
Gerber made a brilliant run down the baseline before cutting the ball back to Potgieter, who smashed it into the back of the net to double Menlopark’s lead.
Our Lady of Fatima was on the back foot after soaking up pressure for most of the contest. They had barely ventured out of their half. They won only three penalty corners in the first half and added another two in the third chukka.
The two in the third quarter were, though, a result of the Durban school’s players coming out of their shell and shifting the pressure back onto Menlopark. They enjoyed more possession in the second half of the third chukka as they chased a goal to cut the opposition’s lead in half.
In the final chukka, Our Lady of Fatima took control of proceedings. Their forays into the Menlopark final third resulted in five penalty corners for coach Matthew Smith‘s charges. They threw everything at the Pretoria girls, including the kitchen sink, and created some goal-scoring opportunities.
Annika Kloppers, the Menlopark goalkeeper, who had produced an outstanding game in the semifinals, was up to the challenge, however, keeping Our Lady of Fatima goalless.
Towards the end of the contest, Menlopark had their hearts in their hands when they lost the ball in their own circle, but they were saved by a scrambling defence and the excellent Kloppers.
Our Lady of Fatima kept pressing, but there was no give in Menlopark’s resistance.
With just over a minute left in the match, Smith withdrew goalkeeper Kayla Driver in a last-ditch attempt to manufacture a goal. But the move came too late, and it went unrewarded.
RESULTS
Final: Menlopark 2-0 Our Lady of Fatima
3rd/4th: Eunice 4-0 St Mary’s DSG, Kloof
5th/6th: St Anne’s (3) 2-2 (2) Durban Girls’ College
7th/8th: Waterkloof (2) 1-1 (1) St John’s DSG
