Northwood ends 10-year wait against Hilton, Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College collect wins
Northwood recorded their first win over Hilton College in a decade when they fought their way to a 2-1 win away from home on the Mansergh Astro on Saturday.
The victory was a perfect way for the Knights to end their second-term schedule.
After falling behind early, with six minutes remaining in the opening chukka, Cam White and Caleb Phipson scored for the Knights in the second half to end their long wait.
In Botha’s Hill, Maritzburg College overcame the hosts, Kearsney College, winning 2-0 on the AH Mason Astro. Meanwhile, in an Edgars Friday Nite Lights clash, Michaelhouse cruised to a 2-0 win over Westville Boys’ High.
“Hilton is a well-structured team, and they are good tactically. Credit to [coach] Damien [Kimfley] and his team. It was a good battle and a tightly contested match. I am proud of my Northwood chaps,” Justin Collins, the Knights’ coach, said after the game.
Hilton headed into the match eager to assert themselves, but Northwood gave as good as they got, although they conceded that early field goal.
Throughout the season, though, the Knights have shown strong character, and they valiantly fought back, chasing an equaliser. Hilton, however, carried a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
In the second stanza, Northwood came out with intensity and were rewarded eight minutes into the third chukka, when they executed a sharp penalty corner routine.
“We knew that their strength was playing direct and playing with flow, so we needed to restrict that and keep them at bay. The boys managed that effectively for long periods,” Collins revealed.
The action was end-to-end, but with just over a minute-and-a-half left in the contest, Northwood struck via a field goal, and Hilton was unable to conjure a last-gasp reply.
Kearsney vs Maritzburg College
At Kearsney College, Caden Francis and Greg Hosking found the back of the net for Maritzburg College. The visitors had a plan, and they executed it to the letter.
“The plan was to kill space in our half and play them on the outside,” Mark Sanders, the Maritzburg College coach, said.
The visitors played to their strengths and were rewarded with a goal six minutes from halftime. After the break, College continued to pressure the home side and picked up their second goal in the third chukka. The hosts, try as they might, were unable to break through the visitors’ defence.
Westville vs Michaelhouse
At Westville, on Friday evening, Michaelhouse started the weekend’s big KZN hockey fixtures with a 2-0 win over Westville Boys’ High.
“The boys played with super control, creating many chances. They were also excellent in deep defence,” Nick Bérichon, the Michaelhouse coach, told SuperSport Schools News.
Westville and Michaelhouse traded blows in the first chukka, with neither side able to manufacture a breakthrough. The stalemate continued in the second quarter. However, shortly before halftime, Michaelhouse came close to breaking the deadlock only for Westville goalkeeper Bryce Powell-Rees to pull off a brilliant save.
Two minutes later, though, the visitors hit the front when Henry Yeadon fired a missile into the back of the net.
The second half began with Michaelhouse on the front foot. They piled pressure on the Westville defence, and it wasn’t long before they reaped a reward. It took only five minutes of the third chukka for ‘House to net their second, thanks to a Ben Heuer deflection.
Thandanani Zuma, Graydon Leslie, Tom Perkins, and Rourque van Rooyen led the charge, putting in excellent shifts to power Michaelhouse to victory.
“It was a great team performance, a full 16-man performance. I am happy for the boys. This was a superb win at a tough place to win at,” Bérichon said.
Results:
Northwood 2-1 Hilton
Maritzburg College 2-0 Kearsney
Michaelhouse 2-0 Westville
