Northwood and KES share the spoils in see-saw eight-goal tussle

Northwood showed character and application to overturn a two-goal deficit and force a 4-4 draw with King Edward VII School (KES) in their derby encounter on the Jones Astro at Northwood on Sunday.

Luc Boyall led the scoring for Northwood with a brace, while Sisekelo Sibeko and Blake Herselman added a goal each for the Knights.

KES, who’ve been enjoying an outstanding season, replied through Matthew Bromley, who matched Boyall’s brace, while regular goal scorers, Blaine Candy and Andrew Arouca, bolstered their season’s tallies, too.

“I’m so proud of the boys and the improvement they’ve shown over a couple of weeks. They did really well to come back and draw that game, especially when it was against all odds,” Justin Collins, the Northwood coach, told SuperSport Schools News.

The Knights jogged onto the field with visibly heavy legs after their clinical victory against a Maritzburg College side that refused to accept defeat on Saturday. The visitors, on the other hand, headed into the contest, playing for a second successive day too, but also buoyed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Westville Boys High at Westville.

KES carried the momentum of that battling victory into Sunday’s showdown and fired into the lead only five minutes into the encounter with a sweetly executed drag flick from Blaine Candy. The hosts sought to respond immediately. That didn’t happen, but six minutes later they grabbed the equaliser, also from a short corner, with Luc Boyall smashing a straight shot into the backboards.

The men from Johannesburg had the final say in the opening chukka, with Matt Bromley slotting a rebound from a short corner to take a 2-1 lead into the break. Just over a minute into the second chukka, they turned another penalty corner into a goal, this time from Andrew Arouca, to extend their advantage to 3-1, and carried that two-goal lead into halftime.

“The boys were tired after yesterday, but they showed a lot of character to fight back and show some really good structure. It was really cool to have a tight game and put everything into the mix,” Collins reflected.

The coach’s words at the halftime break worked wonders. Immediately after the restart, Northwood cut the deficit to one goal through Sisekelo Sibeko. However, KES was determined to return to Gauteng with a win, and they scored their fourth, Bromley’s second, three minutes later.

The Knights kept plugging away and breathed new life into the contest with their third goal from Blake Herselman, with less than five minutes left in the chukka. That one-goal difference the encouragement they needed to push hard for victory in the final quarter.

With the game on the line, Collins’ charges made several forays into the KES final third; however, the visitors held firm and denied them access into the circle or shots on goal. Eventually, though, the Knights’ pressure eventually paid off. With six minutes left in the contest, Luc Boyall struck for a second time to even the scores .

“Credit to KES for a great game,” Collins said. “They are a well-structured team.

“It was a good fight, a closely contested game, that could have gone either way. I am very proud of the boys.”

Result

Northwood 4-4 KES

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CS Chiwanza

CS Chiwanza is a former poet and now a full-time storyteller of Southern African sports. He jokes that those who can't do a thing well enough either teach or write. He knows the right way to hold a cricket bat and the right grip for the wobbleball, but can't do either well enough to be picked for a good team. So he writes. However, he mastered the best dart grip and spends hours stat-padding against his wife and kids.

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