SACS holds off Grey College to book Hibbert Shield play-off spot
A far-from-perfect performance filled with sprinkles of individual brilliance and cracking goals secured a hard-fought 6-4 victory for South African College High School (SACS) over Grey College on Thursday, day two of the Hibbert Shield, in Gqeberha.
The sides entered the clash fresh off convincing victories on the opening day of action in Pool A.
On Wednesday, the boys from Cape Town defeated St Alban’s College 7-0 and Pearson High 3-0, while Grey College thumped Pearson 7-0.
Thursday’s showdown was the first-ever meeting between the sides, and, befitting the occasion, parents and spectators flocked to the Rectory AstroTurf to witness one of the games of the tournament.
The game got off to a cracking start, with Litha Kraai quickly making his presence felt with a missile-like penalty corner drag flick, which flew into the back of the net.
Grey, known for their never-say-die attitude, responded almost immediately, and it was their dangerman, Matthias Visser, who replied with a drag flick of his own, beating Ethan October in the cage.
The second chukka belonged to SACS, and goals from Mohlodi Maseko and Adam Thompson extended their advantage to 3-1 at the break.
When SACS captain Jo le Roux, sent a thunderbolt past the Grey ‘keeper in the third chukka, it appeared as if the Capetonians, three goals to the good, were on course for a simple victory.
Visser, however, wasn’t about to allow that to happen, and he pulled one back for Grey from the top of the D. SACS replied almost immediately, though, after some individual brilliance by Kraai, who bagged his second of the game.
Heading into the final chukka, SACS was comfortably ahead, leading 5-2, but Grey was far from done. They came out hard, taking the fight to the opposition and putting on a fantastic show.
The boys from Bloemfontein were relentless on attack, and it was just a matter of time before Visser completed his hat-trick with a third rocket-propelled drag flick.
In a tense final three minutes, Neilyandro Van Schalkwyk pulled another one back for Grey, leaving them only a goal down. Kraai, however, put the game out of reach with his third and SACS’s sixth of the game.
The win assured SACS of a place in the quarterfinals, with maximum points from three games, and first place in Group A.
Speaking to SuperSport Schools Plus after the game, SACS skipper Jo Le Roux said they’re ecstatic to progress but more hard work lies ahead.
“We’re very happy with our progress, but there’s obviously a lot of stuff to work on, and that’s always going to be the case,” he said.
“We are going to recover today and do some video analysis and prepare for the knockout games. We want to fine-tweak a few things. Our PCs weren’t firing against Pearson, and we were struggling with our stopping and injection.
“We also want to work on different pressing angles and get them fine-tuned for our next game, depending on who we play.”
SACS will face one of Bishops, Parel Vallei, Hoërskool Garsfontein, or Durban High School, who are contesting a very competitive Pool D.
