SA teams take positives out of opening Dato Mirnawan Cup performances
The South African u17 boys’ and girls’ teams showed glimpses of their potential on the opening day of the Dato Mirnawan Cup, in Malaysia, on Sunday.
The annual international tournament, hosted by the Malaysian Hockey Federation, runs through to Sunday, 9 November, in Kuala Lumpur.
It’s an u18 event, but the South African Schools Hockey Association (SASHOC) has sent national u17 sides to it over the past three seasons in an effort to build for the future.
The boys’ team opened their campaign against the Australian Crocs, while the girls took on Queensland.
BOYS’ RECAP
Beginning with a morale-boosting win was the goal for the SA u17 boys and they fulfilled that goal by beating the Crocs 2-0. After a fifth-place finish in 2024, it was an encouraging start for coach Justin Collins‘ charges.
It was all South Africa in the early going, with skipper Mohlodi Maseko opening the scoring in the first minute. Thandanani Zuma made it 2-0 eight minutes later.
From there, South Africa held on for the win despite having to weather several promising attacks from their opponents.
“I think the first half was really good from the boys,” captain Maseko told team manager Pius Nkosi after the game.
“We put them under pressure and created a lot of opportunities for ourselves. Towards the second half, we started playing around too much and made some mistakes.
“We didn’t create as many chances but, overall, I think it was a good shift from the boys to win the game 2-0.”
Maseko and his team will take on the Malaysia Tigers in their next game on Monday at 12:00 SAST.
GIRLS’ RECAP
It was not the best of starts for the girls’ team, who went down to a 1-3 defeat against Queensland.
The South African side was on the back foot early on and conceded three goals in the first half. However, after the halftime break, they showed character and fight to pull a goal back with Busiwe Mayekiso from Hudson Park High, opening the team’s goal-scoring account.
Despite the loss, co-captains Katherine Sickle and Ella Bowyer said they remained optimistic.
“I think the girls played well and dominated the game. We were just unlucky with the score, but we will keep pushing for the days to come,” Sickle told team manager Thando Ndlovu after the game.
“The team really feels good, even though the score didn’t go our way. We feel uplifted and spirited, and we’re just going to continue working,” she added.
Bowyer was impressed with the hunger of the South African forwards to score, even though they had gone three goals down.
“When we conceded goals, we were very composed and pushed really hard, especially the forwards in the press,” she said. “That’s when we got our goal, scored by Busi.
“We will use this as a learning experience and just come back tomorrow stronger and more positive than we were in this game.”
The South African girls tackle the Australia Crocs on Monday at 10:00 SAST.
Click HERE to see our full coverage of the Dato Mirnawan Cup.
TEAMS
Boys
Marley Musasa, Daniel Fisher (both Rondebosch Boys’ High and Western Province), Viwe Ndlovu, Andile Lembethe (both Maritzburg College and KZN Inland), Ruben Gouws, Logan Lackey (both Paul Roos Gimnasium and Boland), Cameron Cordeiro, Chavez Sanger, Mohlodi Maseko (all SACS and Western Province), Keegan de Jager (Kearsney College, KZN Coastal), Jacques van Dyk (Stellenberg High, Western Province), Liam Brooker (Pretoria Boys High, Northern Gauteng), Thandanani Zuma (Michaelhouse, KZN Inland), Matteo Stipcevich (St David’s Marist Inanda, Southern Gauteng), Neilyandro van Schalkwyk (Grey College, Southern Free State), Ryan Groenewald (Fairmont High, Western Province), Chad Julius (Wynberg Boys’ High, Western Province), Martin de Bruyn (Paarl Boys’ High, Boland).
Girls
Annika Kloppers (Die Hoërskool Menlopark, Northern Gauteng), Peyton Marais (Curro Durbanville, Western Province), Timari Jonker (Potchefstroom Gimnasium, North West), Jamie da Silva, Ella Bowyer (both St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, KZN Coastal), Zezethu Kunene (Maris Stella, KZN Coastal), Raffael Abrahams (Steyn City School, Southern Gauteng), Holly Hofmeyr (St Anne’s Diocesan College, KZN Inland), Xylia Choene (Oranje, Southern Free State), Claire Volschenk (Eunice, Southern Free State), Azania Petersen (St Andrew’s School For Girls, Southern Gauteng), Siphiwe Thwala (Middelburg High School, Mpumalanga), Busiwe Mayekiso (Hudson Park High, Border), Katherine Sickle (Rhenish Girls’ High, Boland), Emihle Wulana (Parel Vallei, Boland), Jemma Ferreira (St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls, Eastern Gauteng), Anjun Kazie (Milnerton High, Western Province), Amogelang Motlatle (Curro Hazeldean, Northern Gauteng).
BOYS’ FIXTURES
Note*: Fixtures are in South African Standard Time.
3 November
12:00 – South Africa vs Malaysia Tigers
5 November
12:00 – South Africa vs Malaysia Speedy
6 November
10:00 – South Africa vs Queensland (Australia)
8 November
10:00 – South Africa vs Japan
GIRLS’ FIXTURES
3 November
10:00 – South Africa vs Australia Crocs
6 November
12:00 – South Africa vs Malaysia Tigers
8 November
10:00 – South Africa vs Japan
