Paarl Gim and St Stithians into St Mary’s semis
Paarl Gim and St Stithians put together outstanding performances on day three of the St Mary’s Hockey Festival to top Pool F and book themselves places in the semifinals.
In the semis, Paarl Gim will go up against Pool E runners-up and defending champions, Eunice, and Saints will go head-to-head with Pool E table-toppers, Durban Girls’ College.
Paarl Gim was the first team in Pool F to punch their ticket to the semi-finals.
Ian Naudé’s team headed into their match against Rhenish on the back of a 2-0 win over Waterkloof and a 1-1 draw with Oranje, a tie in which they were rescued by a late Tanya Pieterse goal that saved the day. A draw with Rhenish would seem them through.
“We are going in looking for a win. We are building a winning culture within the team, and we won’t shoot for anything less, even though a draw can see us through,” Naudé shared with Supersport Schools Plus moments before their showdown with Rhenish.
But the Stellenbosch girls were not going to be pushovers. Chris Gerber’s team was one of the most fluent outfits of the festival, showing off impeccable ball movement when in possession. Despite being a young team, with only one matric in the side, Rhenish had also exhibited admirable mental strength throughout the St Mary’s Festival.
“I am proud of how this team has shown up. They are a young side, enjoying the festival, but they are also mentally tough. They have the ability to dig deep when it matters the most,” Gerber told Supersport Schools Plus.
If Gim was to win, Naudé knew he had to try something special to get one over their familiar opponents. This was a Boland-Cape Town derby being played in Johannesburg.
The Bolanders altered their positioning slightly. It worked. By changing their channels of attack, Paarl Gim created more space for their strikers to exploit.
“Playing against Rhenish is always hard, but our girls are well-conditioned and have a hunger to be number one in the tournament. So, they were very composed. They passed well and retained possession well,” Naudé said.
Those adjustments and their hungry approach earned Paarl Gim a hard-fought 1-0 win and lifted them to the top of the pool.
St Stithians, the other team from Pool F to book a semi-final slot, started slowly. They finished third in Pool D after posting three wins, three draws and a loss to Paarl Gim.
Their start to the St Mary’s Festival was not all that different from their start to the season. Lance Louw’s charges did not dominate at the Balling Festival earlier in the year.
Among the teams they lost to at the Balling Festival was Oranje, who overwhelmed Saints 10-0. When the two sides again on Saturday, Saints didn’t just have an opportunity to avenge their heavy defeat in Bethlehem, they were also in a must-win situation.
A victory for the Johannesburg side would put them in a position to open up the table and give themselves room to compete for one of the top two spots.
In his pre-game team talks, Louw stresses teamwork, “So that, if the opposition marks one player out, everyone else is still able to rally and keep the team in the game. Our focus is always on us, not I,” he explained.
Reabitswe Mpume was, however, in sensational form for Saints and Oranje was unable to diminish her influence on the contest, no matter what they tried. She controlled play in the middle of the field, seeing to it that Gyster van Schalkwyk’s charges could not freely make excursions into the St Stithians’ final quarter.
Mpume’s outstanding performance was spurred on by Ashley Lanham-Love’s industrious runs and work rate. “Ashley had an outstanding day today. She was exceptionally consistent and made all the running to open things up,” said Louw.
Saints’ hard work was rewarded with a goal, scored by Mpume. It was a result of perfectly timed dummy runs and passes after Saints had won a short corner.
Buoyed by their 1-0 victory over Oranje, Saints battled to a 0-0 draw against a well-oiled Rhenish side and then pulled off a 1-0 win over Waterkloof to set themselves up for a shot at the final.
On Sunday, Saint takes on Durban Girls’ College in a must-watch semi-final tie.
Pool F Results
Oranje 0-1 St Stithians, Rhenish 2-2 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), Waterkloof 0-2 Paarl Gim, Oranje 1-1 Paarl Gim, Rhenish 0-0 St Stithians, Waterkloof 0-2 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), Waterkloof 0-1 St Stithians, Rhenish 0-1 Paarl Gim, Oranje 1-0 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof)
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