Momentous wins for Paarl Boys’ High and Bishops
The script couldn’t have been written any better ahead of the highly anticipated clash between Paarl Boys’ High and Bishops Diocesan College, which is scheduled for Friday, 13 June, in Paarl.
That’s because both sides secured monumental victories over the weekend and will head into their showdown with their tails up and confident.
Boishaai hosted a high-flying Parel Vallei (PV) outfit and claimed an impressive 4-2 win. Bishops, meanwhile, has had a challenging season, but they stunned Paarl Gimnasium 2-1 at the Woodlands AstroTurf, in Cape Town.
A week before their win over PV, Boishaai recorded a 3-1 win over Stellenberg High School, which came after they had pushed Paul Roos Gimnasium hard, but had gone down 0-2.
Despite the Stellenberg triumph, coach Rowan McLachlan’s side was wary of PV, who were coming off a stirring 3-2 win against Paarl Gimnasium.
Playing on their home turf, in front of their passionate supporters, Boys High asserted their dominance and were rewarded with the opening goal early in the second chukka through AJ Fourie, who pounced on a sloppy clearance.
It was a special moment as the goal came in his 50th appearance for the team.
The second chukka was evenly matched and produced no goals, but the home side doubled their tally late in the third chukka after a near-post tap-in by Mijan Herholdt.
Coach McLachlan’s troops upped the intensity in the final chukka and netted twice more through Alex Lategan and DaNiel Willemse.
Parel Vallei mustered two consolation goals just before the end of the match, through Luka Meets and Liyema Jijana, which brought some respectability to the scoreline.
Reacting to his team’s performance after the game, coach McLachlan said: “I’m very happy with how the boys performed this evening.
“I feel like we were well put together and were clinical when it counted most. PV are a well-coached team, so we knew we were going to have to be good, so I’m just a happy coach,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
Boishaai had started the season promisingly but then suffered a bit of a slump, going down to Rondebosch Boys’ High, Wynberg Boys’ High, Grey College, and Paul Roos in May. although they were competitive in all of those contests.
McLachlan said he was concerned after those close defeats, but said he is glad to have his boys firing on all cylinders once again.
“I feel like we started our season very well and won 10 games on the trot. We then hit a rough patch, losing four matches consecutively. But after beating Stellenberg and now, Parel Vallei, I feel like we’re back on track.
“We face Bishops at home next week, and the only thing I’d like to work on is finishing stronger. We allowed two soft goals in the last two minutes, so we need to be better there in closing out the game properly,” he ended.
While there was joy for Boishaai at home, Bishops were also in a joyful mood after shocking Paarl Gimnasium 2-1.
Coach Ryan Julius’s side were the underdogs heading into the clash, but they proved how good they could be when under pressure.
Troy Stockdale and Callum Jones scored their goals, while Juan Swanepoel netted the solitary goal for the visitors.
“I’m very pleased with the result. They are a well-oiled team,” Julius said after the match.
“The boys played really well. We kept the ball. We were patient. We played a lot of phases, and we got two goals we deserved.
“This gives our team more confidence to go forward, and it’s a young team, so we are building in the right direction.
“There are a lot of things we need to tweak and adjust tactically for Paarl Boys, but I’m proud of how my team carried themselves.”
Other matches
Paul Roos Gimnasium, after their 1-3 loss to South African College High School (SACS), got back to winning ways with a convincing 5-0 win over Stellenberg High School.
Ruan Strauss struck twice, while Christo Swanepoel, Callum van Oudtshoorn, and Ruben Gouws netted PRG’s other goals.
SACS continued on their merry winning way, beating Reddam House Constantia 4-0.
Litha Kraai found the back of the net twice, and he was joined on the scoresheet by his captain, Jo le Roux, and the dangerous Reece Theunis.
Rondebosch Boys’ High defeated their southern suburbs rivals, Wynberg, 3-1, and DF Malan claimed the big scalp of Durbanville, winning by the odd goal in five.
WESTERN CAPE BOYS’ RESULTS
Paul Roos Gimnasium 5-0 Stellenberg High
Bishops 2-1 Paarl Gimnasium
Rondebosch Boys’ High 3-1 Wynberg Boys’ High
SACS 4-0 Reddam House Constantia
Paarl Boys’ High 4-2 Parel Vallei
DF Malan 3-2 Durbanville
