Northwood to face Kearsney in Michaelhouse Hockey Tournament final
Northwood and Kearsney College will meet in the final of the Michaelhouse Hockey Tournament on Sunday evening after finishing top of Pool A and Pool B, respectively.
The Knights were the top scorers during the round-robin matches, netting 20 times while conceding only six goals, three of which came in their opening 3-3 draw with St Andrew’s College. They convincingly won the rest of their matches, beating Michaelhouse 4-1, St Charles 8-1, and, on Saturday, Affies 5-1.
Given that their game against the Pretoria school was a showdown between the teams that finished first and second in the group, it was an impressive performance.
While Northwood continued to roll in Pool A, Kearsney strung together a perfect record of four wins from four matches in Pool B. Coach Keegan Pearce‘s side made a mixed start to the season, so their success at Michaelhouse caught some off guard. Props to the Botha’s Hill boys, though. They’ve risen to the challenge.
They opened their account with a comfortable 3-0 win over Paarl Boys’ High on Thursday, then followed that up with a crucial 4-3 defeat of Hilton College in the group’s most consequential clash.
A 3-1 victory over Reddam House Constantia gave Kearsney their third victory on the trot, and they wrapped up first place in Pool B with the maximum 12 points after another 3-1 success, this time against Maritzburg College on Saturday.
Hilton College’s only loss was that aforementioned defeat to Kearsney, and they’ll take on Affies, who posted a record of two wins, a draw, and a defeat, for third place.
In Saturday’s other matches, Paarl Boys’ High edged out Reddam Constantia 1-0 in a Western Cape clash, while St Charles College, winless through their first three matches, stunned St Andrew’s College 3-1 to move above them to fourth place in the Pool A standings. Earlier in the day, Saints lost 1-3 against Michaelhouse.
Hilton boosted their goal difference in their last group game, overpowering Reddam 8-0, while Affies downed St Andrew’s College 3-2, and Maritzburg College beat Paarl Boys’ High 2-1.
RESULTS
1st XI
Pool A
Affies 3-2 St Andrew’s College
Michaelhouse 3-1 St Charles
Northwood 5-1 Affies
St Charles 3-1 St Andrew’s College
Pool B
Maritzburg College 2-1 Paarl Boys’ High
Hilton College 8-0 Reddam House Constantia
Kearsney College 3-1 Maritzburg College
Paarl Boys’ High 1-0 Reddam House Constantia
U16
St Andrew’s College 2-0 Clifton College
Rondebosch Boys’ High 5-0 Somerset College
Affies 7-0 St Charles College
Paarl Boys’ High 4-3 Hilton College
Somerset College 2-1 St Charles College
Hilton College 3-0 Clifton College
FIXTURES
Sunday, 26 April
Punchbowl
13:00 – Michaelhouse vs Maritzburg College, (5th/6th)
14:30 – Affies vs Hilton College, (3rd/4th)
19:00 – Northwood vs Kearsney (1st/2nd)
Aitkens
13:00 – St Andrew’s College vs Reddam House Constantia, (9th/10th)
14:30 – St Charles vs Paarl Boys’ High, Aitkens, (7th/8th)
