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Northwood and Grey College victorious while Clifton held by St Alban’s

By CS Chiwanza , in Hockey | Featured Hockey | News , at 2024-05-18 Tags: , , , , ,

The Northwood and Grey College 1st XIs registered victories in their weekend derby clashes, while Clifton had to settle for a draw with the visiting St Alban’s College in Durban.

Northwood, who hosted Glenwood, triumphed 4-0 on Friday night, while Grey College defeated Affies 2-1 on Saturday morning, and Clifton finished level at 1-1 with St Alban’s at the Riverside Sports Club.

Since a 1-1 draw with Kearsney on a misty Friday evening earlier this month, Northwood has been on an upward trajectory. That draw was followed by a 3-1 win over Jeppe. Justin Collins‘ charges also took plenty of confidence into their clash with Glenwood after scoring 23 times without reply in their meetings in 2022 and 2023.

However, Glenwood has made strides in 2024, performing far better this season than last year, as Braydon Naidoo puts in the hard work to reignite the school’s hockey programme.

Two weeks ago, they enjoyed a successful trip to Johannesburg, holding Parktown, who have come on strongly in the second half of the season, to a 1-1 draw, before trampling over Linden in a 6-0 victory. Last week, they took a break.

While Friday night’s scoreline suggests that Northwood completely dominated the encounter, Collins admitted that Glenwood excelled in some phases of the game and put the hosts under pressure. But they couldn’t breach Northwood’s typically tenacious defence. “We were good in defence,” Collins said. “We take pride in the way we defend, and our defenders made sure we could stay ahead of the game.  I am really happy that we kept a clean sheet.”

Collins was also pleased with the goals his team scored. Trent Jessop led the way with a brace, including a sharp deflection, while Alistair Duncan and Andrew Deeb also struck for the Knights.

“It was a nice, free-flowing game. We played some good positive hockey, pressed really nicely. It’s encouraging to see us pressing at that level,” Collins said.

On Saturday morning, Clifton hosted a spirited St Alban’s outfit, who gave as good as they got. it was a back-and-forth affair from the first whistle but, despite the action, the combatants struggled to pry open their opposition’s defences.

The tie appeared destined for a 0-0 draw, with the teams’ goalless midway through the third quarter, but Clifton finally broke the deadlock.

After turning over possession as St Alban’s counterattacked, Clifton accelerated up the field and forced a penalty corner. After a re-award, Calvin Price’s charges struck from the set piece, with Zach Williamson netting a screamer to give his side the lead with just over eight minutes left in the chukka.

The boys in black kept their noses in front well into the fourth quarter. They kept attacking, but St Alban’s resolutely withstood the hosts’ onslaughts. Then, the Pretoria school earned a penalty corner. On their second try, they, too, struck with a drag flick.

St Alban’s almost stole a win three minutes later, but Clifton ‘keeper Georg Wolhuter pulled off a brilliant save to keep the ball out. There was no let-up as both sides desperately chased a win. In the end, though, they had to be satisfied with a draw.

In Pretoria, Grey College tussled with Affies. Wayne Coetzee and his charges made the trip to South African capital city buoyed by their last two results, a 4-0 win over Fichardtpark, which was followed up with a 3-0 defeat of Paarl Boys’ High, at home.

Affies, in Pretoria, proved to a tougher opponent. They were spurred on by their home supporters, but Grey worked hard to stave off the Affies’ attacks.

“We played well and remained disciplined through a difficult stage,” Coetzee said afterwards. “The boys’ mental strength was what pulled them through the game.”

Grey College’s goals came from Matthias Visser, who has been in prolific form from penalty corners this season. On Saturday, he added two more from the set piece

CS Chiwanza
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.