Northwood wins on Old Boys’ Day, while Michaelhouse draws with PBHS
Northwood put on a spectacular show for their old boys, scoring a 2–1 win over Maritzburg College in a humdinger of an encounter, while Michaelhouse shared the spoils with Pretoria Boys High School, with the teams playing to a 1-1 draw on the Punchbowl Astro on Saturday.
As they have done consistently so far this season, Kyle Emerson’s charges sought to impose themselves early in their encounter, and they took the fight to Northwood. They were confident on the ball and dominated possession. Earlier in the season, Maritzburg College was merely good at retaining possession but did not make circle entries or create enough chances. Against Northwood, they did so and found an early goal.
Northwood could have gone 0-2 down a few times in the contest. A second goal would have buried the hosts but, thankfully for coach Justin Collins, the Knights’ defence held firm.
“They outplayed us in the first half and put a lot of pressure on us in many phases. Credit to Kyle Emerson for the good tactics,” Collins said after the match.
When they emerged for the second half, Northwood was a different outfit. They were better tactically and were able to pressure their visitors for longer periods, while also creating chances. One of those chances resulted in a goal by Trent Jessop, with the equaliser giving the home side renewed hope that they could turn the match around all the way and not settle for a draw.
Andrew Deeb then struck to edge Northwood ahead.
“Credit to my support staff for putting the right plans in place. When our first goal went in, we knew we were going to turn the tide.
“I am proud of the guys for staying involved as long as they did and for showing belief in the way they did.
“We conceded short corners but defended well. The guys controlled their emotions in difficult periods. It was a nice win for the old boys,” Collins said.
In the KZN midlands, Michaelhouse dominated the early exchanges of their match against PBHS. Nick Bérichon’s charges took to the astro with a clear plan, one based on clean connections, and those clean connecttions created a first-half goal from Murray Hall-Jones, who converted a penalty corner variation.
“We just wanted to move the ball very quickly. We feel like we can open any opposition when we do so,” Bérichon explained.
Despite trailing 0-1, PBHS took control of the second half, thanks to some outstanding work in the midfield, which saw the visitors wrestle control of the game. “We didn’t manage their midfielders as well as we would have wanted. I think that’s where they took control. We found ourselves stuck in deep defence, defending for long periods. That’s something we need to work on,” Bérichon said.
The visitors created their fair share of chances in the second half but converted only one of those into a goal, with Marco Upton converting a penalty stroke to level matters.
From then onwards, the visitors controlled the flow of the game. While coach Jacques Klopper was disappointed that his charges were unable to convert most of the chances they created, the PBHS coach was happy with his team’s ability to bounce back.
“It was also a good experience for the boys. They get to travel and see other parts of the country, make new friends, and different provinces play a different brand of hockey, so they learn the game from a different angle,” Klopper reflected on the derby experience.
RESULTS
Friday
St Charles 2-3 St Stithians
Northwood 2–1 Maritzburg College
Michaelhouse 1-1 PBHS
Westville 1-2 Hilton
Glenwood 0-4 Kearsney
