Menlopark to meet Our Lady of Fatima in St Anne’s Cup final
Die Hoërskool Menlopark and Our Lady of Fatima will meet in the final of the St Anne’s Cup, at St Anne’s, in Hilton, on Sunday.
In the semifinals, late on Saturday, Menlopark triumphed 3-2 over Eunice on penalties after the sides were deadlocked at 0-0 following regulation time. Our Lady of Fatima scored a thrilling 1-0 win over last year’s champion, St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.
Those wins, of course, mean there will be a new name on the St Anne’s Cup and a new home for it for the next year.
Our Lady of Fatima’s path to the final was not entirely smooth. They began their campaign with a 1-2 defeat against Durban Girls’ College (DGC). However, in a must-win match, they recorded a 2-0 victory over Waterkloof in their second Pool D fixture.
Those results left them in second place in the group and set up a quarterfinal date with last year’s bronze medallists, St Anne’s. The Durban school hit their straps against the hosts, powering their way to a 4-2 win to set up a meeting with familiar foes, St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.
Our Lady of Fatima’s attack found themselves up against a solid defence in a tight battle for a place in the title game. The Durban school, though, was good when not in possession and St Mary’s struggled to outlet.
The contest was deadlocked until the final chukka when Our Lady of Fatima made the all-important breakthrough, converting a penalty corner three minutes in, which proved to be enough to see them through to the final.
When Menlopark met Eunice, Annika Kloppers, the Menlopark goalkeeper, pulled off two brilliant saves to deny Eunice victory in the shootout.
Those stops were an extension of an outstanding game by the netminder, who denied some good Eunice goal-scoring opportunities during regulation time.
Their victory, though, was about more than a fantastic goalkeeping performance. Chanette Jansen van Vuuren was immense in the middle of the park and was judged to be Menlopark’s Player of the Match.
It was heart-stopping stuff in the penalty shootout, with the sides level at 2-2 following the first round during which Zoe Badenhorst and Monique Gerber converted for Menlo.
In the sudden death shootout, Badenhorst netted again, and when Kloppers denied Eunice once more the Pretoria school was through to the title decider.
When he spoke to Supersport Schools ahead of the tournament, Menlopark’s coach, Brad Brook, optimistically shared that while his team was focused on taking things “a game at a time” his side’s primary goal was to first improve on their performance from last year. With the win, they ensured that they would.
Not only have his charges guaranteed themselves a podium finish, but they also have a one-in-two chance of lifting the title.
From their first match, on Friday, Menlopark signalled their intent by overwhelming Worcester Gimnasium 9-0.
They, however, suffered a setback in their second outing, falling 0-2 to St Anne’s. As the second-place finishers in Pool A, they had earned a quarterfinal clash with last year’s runner-up, Durban Girls’ College (DGC).
Menlopark got off to the start they wanted against DGC, seizing the initiative with a first-chukka goal and doubling their lead in second quarter. DGC was able to pull one back in the fourth chukka, but it was too late.
On their way to the final, Menlopark and Our Lady of Fatima combined to eliminate last year’s top four finishers. They have proven themselves to be the teams to beat and a humdinger of a contest beckons in the title game.
RESULTS
Voortrekker (Bethlehem) 1-0 Worcester Gim
Waterkloof 3-0 The Wykeham Collegiate
Our Lady of Fatima 4-2 St Anne’s
Menlopark 2-1 DGC
Eunice (3) 3-3 (2) Waterkloof
St Mary’s DSG 2-1 St John’s DSG
The Wykeham Collegiate 2-1 Voortrekker (Bethlehem)
DGC (2) 0-0 (0) Waterkloof
Noordheuwel 5-1 Worcester Gim
Menlopark (3) 0-0 (2) Eunice
Our Lady of Fatima 1-0 St Mary’s DSG Kloof
