Reddam beats Herschel to win the Mackenzie Cup in home waters
Reddam House Constantia’s girls’ senior water polo head coach Connor Whiting lauded his side’s ability to work as a team after they defeated their rivals, Herschel Girls School, 6-4 in the final of the Mackenzie Cup in Cape Town on Sunday.
The annual tournament, hosted by Reddam at the school’s Indoor Aquatics Centre, brought together 16 top teams in search of early-season silverware.
Despite the hungry opposition, it was the home side that rose to the occasion and did themselves proud in front of their home supporters.
Drawn in Pool A, they made short work of Rhenish, Pearson High, and Somerset College, dominating them on their way to the quarterfinals.
In the last eight, they came up against Rustenburg Girls’ High School. Raising their game to match the higher stakes, they scored a whopping 18 goals while conceding only four.
Olivia Geddes was in top form in that quarterfinals’ clash, netting five times, while Abigail Weatherall, Holly Strydom, and Bailey Donnachie all came away with hattricks. Captain Erin-Bella Nordgaard contributed a brace, and Abigail Bester and Summer Wain completed the drubbing.
In the semi-finals, the hosts faced their toughest test until then, Durban Girls’ College, while Herschel took on DSG Makhanda.
With expectations high, as the tournament drew towards its conclusion, Reddam didn’t disappoint their supporters and put on a show to dismantle the defending champions 11-3.
In the other semifinal, Herschel was also dominant, handing DSG a 9-2 defeat to set up an exciting All-Cape final between two of the region’s traditional powers.
The final was largely controlled by the hosts, but it was goalless after the first chukka, with Reddam staying in the contest thanks to a combination of good defending and goalkeeping from Iviwe Oduore.
When Herschel opened the scoring early in the second chukka, the hosts quickly replied through a Summer Wain penalty.
Olivia Geddes then gave Reddam the lead, scoring her side’s second goal with a superb shot from outside the box to deliver them a 2-1 advantage at the halfway mark.
The visitors responded in the third chukka and levelled matters before Holly Strydom edged Reddam ahead once more. The hosts, then, scored again through Geddes to make it 4-2 heading into the final chukka.
They didn’t look back, with Strydom striking for a second time in the contest before Geddes completed her hattrick to see the hosts to a tense 6-4 win.
“Teamwork was the big factor this weekend,” Whiting told SuperSport Schools Plus after the match.
“We were missing three of our top players, who are in China with the SA u18 team, so a lot of girls had to step up this weekend, and they did well.
“We had to work harder as a team. We’ve always had strong players, but I think we clicked well as a team for the first time in a long time, and that helped.”
Whiting said his message to his players was simple: “I just told the team to stay consistent and show teams respect, whether it’s a tough or easy game,” he revealed.
“We had to try and keep the same tempo throughout the tournament and not drop the performance, and that’s easier said than done.
“I do, however, think we did well by keeping the same tempo of performance throughout, even though we dominated the pool stages.”
Reddam will next turn their attention to the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament, which takes place from Friday, 20 September to Sunday, 22 September.
They’re seeded in Pool D and will face the Western Cape duo of Wynberg Girls’ High School and Rhenish, as well as St Mary’s Waverley and St Mary’s DSG (Kloof).
