Northwood takes down Jeppe, Grey College beats Paarl Boys’ High
Northwood defeated Jeppe High School for Boys 3-1 in Durban and Grey College overcame Paarl Boys’ High School 3-0 in Bloemfontein in two edge-of-your-seat contests played on Friday night.
Northwood was a hospitable host to their visitors from Johannesburg, but not gracious enough to let the out-of-towners grab a win in their backyard.
Justin Collins’ team followed up on the work done by the u16A and u14A teams earlier in the day. The junior sides recorded victories over their contemporaries from the highveld, and the u19s wrapped up an outstanding day of hockey for the school when they defeated Jeppe under lights.
Collins’ side did not disappoint the home crowd from the first pass-back. They came out attacking and earned an early goal through Luke Allen from a short corner. The visitors, who have a favourable history against Northwood, responded by putting pressure on the home side and their attacking intent was rewarded when they grabbed an equaliser.
The Knights were not about to let the visitors run them over on their home turf, however, especially after the winning afternoon their junior teams had enjoyed. They regained control of the contest and made it 2-1 through Mbuso Qwabe. His backhand strike was one of two outstanding goals on the night. The other was Andre Strydom’s winner, off a deflection, which hammered the final nail into Jeppe’s coffin.
“My boys played nicely tonight. It’s always nice to play against a top opposition like Jeppe, especially with the record that they have had against us. Today was also a good day for us because none of our A teams lost on the home pitch. So, that’s also a big thing for us,” Collins shared after the contest.
In the Free State, coach Wayne Coetzee and his Grey College side hosted Paarl Boys’ High. Of late, Grey has been prolific in front of goal. In their previous two encounters, they had shrugged off Jim Fouché and Fichardtpark, defeating them 7-0 and 4-0 respectively.
When you combine the momentum and confidence from their recent matches with the history, they won 2-1 against Paarl Boys last year, plus the support of the home crowd, Grey College was the solid favourite to win. And they did not disappoint.
“We were good all over, held the ball, and took our opportunity when needed,” Coetzee told SuperSport Schools Plus after the game.
Matthias Visser put on a drag flick show, firing two past the Paarl Boys’ last line of defence from penalty corners. After Visser’s brace, the hosts were in full control, dictating the pace of the contest.
Dayne Kitching put the game beyond the visitors’ reach by capitalising on a penalty corner deflection.
RESULTS
Northwood 3-1 Jeppe
Grey College 3-0 Paarl Boys’ High
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