Noteworthy wins for Kearsney and Michaelhouse
Kearsney College put together a clinical performance as they romped to a 3-0 win over Clifton, while Michaelhouse upset DHS in a five-goal thriller, edging out their highly regarded opposition 3-2, at The Coliseum.
Kearsney headed into their match against Clifton upbeat following a 4-0 demolition job against Glenwood. In that game, their captain and talisman, Matthew Mendes de Oliviera, scored twice. They needed more of that from him when they walked onto the Riverside Sports Club Astro against Calvin Price‘s charges.
From the first pass back, it was Clifton who controlled the early exchanges. They made forays into the Kearsney half, searching for an opener.
A mere 10 minutes into the encounter, Kearsney, who had enjoyed only about 10 percent of the possession, latched onto a ball and drove up into the Clifton half. It was their first attack of the match, and it brought them a goal, scored by Bonga Mapanga, who executed a classy back-stick finish into the bottom corner from the top of the circle.
“Clifton were all over us for the entire first quarter, but we were able to keep them out of our scoring area. This allowed us to play quite expressively in the second period of play,” Kearsney coach Ashley Kemp said.
In the second chukka, Kearsney won a penalty corner, which provided De Olivera with an opportunity to add another goal to his growing tally. The Kearsney captain dribbled past Clifton’s first-wave runner and flicked the ball past Clifton goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter to double Kearsney’s lead.
The Greyhounds’ third goal came in the final quarter when Keagan de Jager sent a flick flying into the top corner of the goal box.
“We got better and better as the game progressed. We defended really well and didn’t give them many opportunities to score. And when they did get an opportunity, our ‘keeper was good enough to stop them,” Kemp said afterwards.
DHS has been one of the form teams this season and is loaded with provincial and national players. Ahead of their showdown with the Horseflies, Michaelhouse coach Nick Bérichon had prepared his charges well.
“We were really organised offensively and defensively. Our approach was extremely structured, which was important against a DHS team that likes to go forward on the counterattack. We wanted to make sure we had our cover and defence well organised,” Bérichon said.
The preparation paid off as Michaelhouse, after going a goal down, took the initiative and scored their opening goal when Thandanani Zuma converted a penalty corner. Soon, they had edged in front. Then, West Mitchell-Innes, who has developed a knack for finding the back of the net this season, scored ‘House’s third.
With a two-goal cushion, the result looked done and dusted. DHS was not done, however, and they kept searching for another goal, which would give them a shot at a draw, and maybe even a win.
They were rewarded with a second goal late into the fourth period. Unfortunately for them, it was too little too late to turn the match.
The victors, Kearsney and Michaelhouse, have set the stage for a potential humdinger when they clash next week.
RESULTS
Michaelhouse 3-2 DHS
Clifton 0-3 Kearsney
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