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Selborne breezes past Dale, Grey thumps Pearson at the Rectory

By Avuyile Sawula , in Hockey | Featured Hockey | News , at 2024-05-19 Tags: , , , , ,

Selborne College skipper, Tre' Gilbert drag flicking for his side during their match vs Dale College in Qonce. Photo Credits: Shot by Shani Photography
Selborne College skipper, Tre’ Gilbert drag flicking for his side during their match vs Dale College in Qonce. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography

Selborne College’s first team captain, Tre’ Gilbert continued his fine form this season when he netted four times to lead his side to an emphatic 10-1 victory over Dale College at the Qonce school’s 163rd reunion  on Friday.

Gilbert’s four goals were accompanied by a Jaques van der Merwe brace, while Kungothando Macanda, Daniel Conroy, Waeden Plaatjes, and Daniel Sirgel also got their names on the score sheet.

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Entering the clash, the visitors had set their sights on improving their general play and on scoring more goals from open play.

When they contested the Hibbert Shield in Gqeberha earlier this month, Selborne scored 18 goals in their five matches, with most of them coming from perfect execution during penalty corners.

That execution needed to be transferred to general play, too, and coach KJ Friend’s team duly delivered, as they opened the scoring in the first two minutes through Plaatjes, who received the ball inside the circle and carved out some space before finding the back of the net.

After that opening goal, the heavens opened.

With Selborne dominating ball possession and territory, Van der Merwe scored their second from open play and, with five minutes left in the chukka, Macanda made it 3-0.

Van der Merwe made it a double to stake his side to a 4-0 lead after the first chukka.

The visitors remained dominant in the second chukka, making Dale do all the chasing and defending.

Daniel Sirgel continued the scoring frenzy early in the quarter and was soon joined by his skipper, Gilbert, who netted twice.

His first came from a long corner, as he drove the ball into the circle before ripping a reverse stick shot past the ‘keeper. His second came from a penalty corner drag flick.

Dale pulled one back through Sonwabiso Dyani, but the hosts entered half-time trailing 1-7.

Dale thought they had scored in the third chukka, but that effort was disallowed, and Selborne bolstered their tally with two more penalty corner drag flicks from the stick of Gilbert.

The hosts continued to chase the game and created some opportunities on the counterattack through their standout player on the day, Gavin Walton.

Walton, who scored against Queen’s in a 3-2 win in Komani in April, was playing his 75th game for the Dale first team. Alongside him, Amangile Songelwa and Akanani Msuthu played their 50th matches.

The home team had scored once, but the Selborne defence refused to give up another. Late in the fourth chukka, the East Londoners drove the final nail into the Dale coffin when Daniel Conroy scored from open play to make the final score 10-1.

It was their second biggest victory of the year, trailing only a massive 16-1 win over Merrifield early in the season.

In another big Eastern Cape clash on Friday, Grey High School continued their prolific form by beating their Gqeberha rivals, Pearson High, 7-1 at the Rectory Astroturf.

Grey entered the clash brimming with confidence.

Last weekend, they had thumped Komani’s Queen’s College 6-0, and they followed that up with a 6-1 win over Woodridge College during the week.

The first half of Friday’s game was a tight struggle, however, and the teams went into half-time locked at 1-1.

Then, coach Andrew Beynon‘s charges upped the pace in the final two chukkas to break open the contest. Suddenly, they scored with ease, with Logan Goddard Ford striking twice. Caleb Humphreys, Athi Voigt and Luke Tait added field goals, and captain Xander Elkington and Ben Ristow scored with drag flicks from penalty corners.

In Makhanda, Kingswood College bagged a handful of goals to beat Victoria Park 5-2. Their win followed a 3-1 midweek triumph over Alexander Road.

Meanwhile, Stirling claimed the bragging rights in East London with a 2-0 victory over Cambridge High School.

RESULTS

Selborne College 10-1 Dale College
Kingswood College 5-2 Victoria Park
Stirling High School 2-0 Cambridge High School
Alexander Road 2-1 Westering High School
Grey High School 7-1 Pearson High School

Avuyile Sawula
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.