Phipson’s hat-trick lifts Northwood to Michaelhouse Hockey Tournament glory
Caleb Phipson netted three times to lead Northwood to a 4-1 victory over Kearsney College and the title at the Michaelhouse Hockey Tournament on Sunday.
“I’m proud of the boys’ performance and the character shown during the week. They got better every game,” Justin Collins, the Northwood coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
The victory confirmed Northwood as the inaugural champions of the competition. Throughout the competition, the Knights scored freely and led the way with 24 goals, followed by Hilton College, with 21 goals. Kearsney, the losing finalist, was third on the list, scoring 14 times.
A feature of Northwood’s game was a lack of reliance on a single goal scorer. They had goal-scoring contributions from various sources, including Phipson, Luc Boyall, Siseko Sebeko, and Ryan Herselman. Phipson’s hat-trick in the final made him Northwood’s highest contributor with seven goals to his name.
The Knights’ young side, which had only one matric learner in the final, scripted an unbeaten run in the tournament. They drew 3-3 with St Andrew’s College in their first match before defeating Michaelhouse 4-1, St Charles College 8-1, and Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) 5-1 on their way to the summit in Pool A.
That run earned them a berth in the final, where they went up against a high-performing Kearsney side that topped Pool B after beating Paarl Boys’ High 3-0, Hilton College 4-3, Reddam House Constantia 3-1, and Maritzburg College 3-1. .
Collins’ charges were unfazed by Kearsney’s impressive run. Instead, they took the initiative and went 1-0 ahead early in the contest. Kearsney fought back and equalised to send the teams into halftime on level terms.
However, Northwood was not done yet. If anything, they were just getting started. In the third quarter, the Knights struck three times without reply to take the game beyond Kearsney’s reach. While Caleb Phipson led the way with a hat-trick, Max Nicholson also added his name to the scoresheet.
While Kearsney took a perfect record into the final, Northwood headed into the title game with the tournament’s most high-octane attack, and that proved to be the difference as they scored a convincing win.
Kearsney’s runner-up finish should be applauded, too. Their form in the early part of the season had been mixed, but they arrived at Michaelhouse well prepared and scored some outstanding victories to top their pool, which not many would have predicted before the tournament.
RESULTS
1st XI
1st/2nd: Northwood 4-1 Kearsney
3rd/4th: Hilton 5-4 Affies
5th/6th: Michaelhouse 2-1 Maritzburg College
7th/8th: St Charles College 1-0 Paarl Boys’ High
9th/10th: St Andrew’s College 5-3 Reddam House Constantia
