SACS outplays Paarl Gim to break Hibbert Shield hoodoo
Four goals by Reece Theunis highlighted a comprehensive 6-3 victory by South African College High School (SACS) over Paarl Gimnasium in the final of the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield, in Gqeberha, on Saturday evening.
In an all-Western Cape final, SACS controlled most of the clash and kept Paarl Gim at arms’ length on their way to lifting the title.
The build-up to the title game featured exhilarating u14 and u16 finals. Paul Roos Gimnasium beat SACS 5-4 in a shootout for the u14 crown, after the teams had shared a 1-1 draw, while the Stellenbosch school emphatically overran Grey High School 4-0 to claim u16 gold and the Hibbert Cup.
After those two curtain-raisers, it was time for a highly anticipated 1st XI final, and the stands at Grey High School’s Rectory AstroTurf were filled to the rafters.
SACS and Paarl Gim had produced similarly dominant runs to the title decider. Gim went unbeaten in Pool C after thumping Grey High School and Westville Boys’ High before playing to a 1-1 draw with St Stithians College.
In the quarterfinals, they edged out Clifton College 3-2 before outplaying Hoërskool Garsfontein 4-2 in the semis.
SACS, meanwhile, was untouchable in Pool A. They dominated St Alban’s College and Pearson High, and produced a thrilling performance in a high-scoring match against Grey College.
In the last eight, they rolled to a 6-2 win over Durban High School (DHS). However, in the semi-finals, they were made to sweat for a 5-4 victory on penalties against Paul Roos Gimnasium after a high-quality match ended tied 3-3.
Past results counted for nothing with the title on the line, though. Just four chukkas, and possibly a shootout, stood between the finalists and the prestigious shield.
SACS made an excellent start. Within a sizzling opening minute, Reece Theunis had logged his first goal after some silky skill by Mohlodi Maseko set him up and Theunis did the rest.
That goal fired SACS up. Their midfield bossed Paarl Gim and they find each other with relative ease.
Four minutes after opening the scoring, Theunis doubled his tally. This time around, it was a well-executed strike to make it 2-0, which was the score at the end of the opening chukka.
A midfield battle developed in the second chukka and Gim grew into the game with skipper Juan Swanepoel and Rikus de Kock inspiring their side to go forward.
Unfortunately for Gim, they were struck by successive blows. The first came from a goal by Adam Thompson, after an assist by Reegan Wille, and Paarl Gim then lost defender, John Coetzee, to a head injury.
They weren’t going down without a fight, however, That’s not the Gim way, and they pulled one back through Ryan van der Merwe after a solo run into the circle by Swanepoel caught SACS napping, and Van der Merwe pounced to provide the tap-in and his side’s first goal.
At the break, SACS led 3-1. The message from coach Sam Holmes to his team was simple – keep applying pressure and avoid falling into the two-goal trap.
The boys from Cape Town had an opportunity to extend their advantage early in the third chukka, but a PC drag flick by Theunis was well saved by Joe van Coller.
It was evenly contested, and the scoreboard remained static until the closing minutes of the quarter. Litha Kraai, then, extended the SACS lead to 4-1 with a thunderbolt drag flick that whistled past Van Coller.
With their passionate and vocal supporters cheering them on, Paarl Gim made inroads in the fourth quarter.
Coetzee returned from the sidelines with a bandage wrapped around his head and, soon after, Gim’s captain, Swanepoel, converted a penalty stroke to up the tension on the Rectory AstroTurf.
With the clock running down, Gim needed something special, and that’s exactly what they got when Ebert Sabbagha collected a superb overhead pass from Swanepoel and wiggled his way past a couple of SACS defenders to slide one past Ethan October.
Gim was back within one goal, but SACS was not about to allow the contest to go to a shootout and Theunis made sure of that by netting twice to make it 6-3 and put some space between the boys in blue and white and their yellow and green-clad opponents.
His third goal came after he got his stick onto a shot from Aiden Hughes. Kraai, then, teed him up with a goal against the run of play.
By then, the clash was done and dusted. Gim had an opportunity to pull one back with a late PC, but Stefan Wiehahn‘s flick was kept out.
The final whistle blew and SACS, for only the second time in their history, was crowned the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield champion.
Paul Roos Gimnasium, the winners of the previous two editions of the event, clinched a tight 2-1 victory over Garsfontein to finish in third place.
St Stithians College thumped Grey College 5-2 to finish in fifth, while Clifton College beat DHS 2-1 in an all-KZN clash to claim seventh. Grey High edged out Westville Boys’ High 3-2 to end in ninth place.
SCORERS IN THE FINAL
SACS 6 (3): Reece Theunis (4), Litha Kraai, Adam Thompson. Paarl Gimnasium 3 (1): Ryan van der Merwe, Juan Swanepoel, Ebert Sabbagha
RESULTS
DAY
Clifton College 2-1 DHS
St Stithians College 5-2 Grey College
Maritzburg College 2-1 Selborne College
Parel Vallei 3-0 St Alban’s College
Bishops 5-2 Pearson High School
Grey High 3-2 Westville Boys’ High
Paul Roos 2-1 Garsfontein
SACS 6-3 Paarl Gimnasium
FINAL STANDINGS
SACS
Paarl Gimnasium
Paul Roos Gimnasium
Garsfontein
St Stithians College
Grey College
Clifton College
DHS
Grey High School
Westville Boys’ High
Parel Vallei High School
St Alban’s College
Bishops
Pearson High
Maritzburg College
Selborne College
