Michaelhouse upsets Hilton, Glenwood sparkles in Johannesburg
West Mitchell-Innes scored a brace to spearhead Michaelhouse to a 3-2 upset over Hilton College on the Mansergh Astro, while Glenwood concluded a successful trip to Johannesburg by following up a 1-1 draw against Parktown on Friday with a 6-0 win over Linden on Saturday.
On paper, Damian Kimfley’s charges were expected to have the upper hand in their showdown with their old rivals, Michaelhouse.
Hilton came into the match on the back of a 5-0 win over Glenwood last week and they also held the upper hand in recent head-to-head encounters against Michaelhouse. They defeated ‘House in their 2022 encounters, when they were ranked number one in the country, and then won both 2023 matches, with a top-five ranked team. Backed by their home crowd, Hilton was confident of building on their run of success against the Balgowan boys.
However, Michaelhouse had other ideas. The 2024 team is not the same side that lost to Hilton previously and they’re now under a new coach, Nick Bérichon, who is steering Michaelhouse in a different direction, moulding the team into a more cohesive and tougher unit. “I want them to play aggressive hockey that is rooted in a structured approach. I also want to equip them to be good at set pieces,” Bérichon shared with Supersport Schools Plus early in the season.
True to their coach’s vision, Michaelhouse came out of the gates attacking and took an early 1-0 lead through West Mitchell-Innes. But Hilton captain Jarred Kitto and his teammates were not about to be run over by Michaelhouse on their home turf. They didn’t take long to level matters.
In their last match, Michaelhouse left it until it was too late before they imposed themselves on the encounter. The result was a 2-3 loss to Kearsney College. They were not about to repeat that error this time around.
They responded to Hilton’s goal by creating another one of their own through Gordon Deutscher. Spurred on by their home crowd, Hilton fought back and equalised again. A pattern seemed to be emerging.
Michaelhouse captain Patrick Lambert and company had not made the trip to Hilton to walk away with a draw. They were in it to win it and continued to launch more forays on the hosts’ goal.
After an outstanding effort in leading Michaelhouse’s attack, Mitchell-Innes was not to be denied and he fired in a third goal for the visitors to seal the win. Kimfley’s charges took the game to Michaelhouse again, but this time the visitors repelled the attacks.
“I am really happy with our short corner defence and how clinical we were in the attacking circle,” Bérichon said after his team’s victory.
Devon van der Merwe, the Hilton College Director of Hockey, congratulated Michaelhouse on a fine win and also had positive things to say about Hilton. Assessing the match, he said: “They took their opportunities. That is something I liked about their game. They were also good at the back, sat deep, and defended well.”
Glenwood, who had made a 570km journey to the highveld for the inaugural Glenwood-Parktown derby, returned to KwaZulu Natal happy with their trip.
Michael Labuschagne‘s charges bounced back from their defeat to Hilton last weekend and played confidently against Parktown on their home turf. They also controlled key phases of the game for longer periods than they had managed in the past few weeks.
By controlling possession, Glenwood was able to create the momentum that led to a goal by Mesuli Msomi, who struck with a well-placed drag flick off a penalty corner.
Msomi carried his good form into Glenwood’s next game against Linden. Early in the first chukka, the striker gave Glenwood the lead, striking with a drag flick again.
As they did against Parktown, the Siya Malatjie-captained team dictated terms, giving Linden little room to breathe, let alone manoeuvre. However, the star of their encounter was Ntando Soni, who bagged a hat-trick. He was well supported by Krian Jugoo and Kaden Henderson, who scored a goal each.
Results
Hilton 2-3 Michaelhouse
Parktown 1-1 Glenwood
Linden 0-6 Glenwood
