Seth Simpson inspires Westville to victory in his 50th match
Seth Simpson celebrated his 50th cap for Westville Boys High in style on Saturday. The Westville captain and striker scored a hattrick to catapult his side to a 3-2 win over King Edward VII School (KES), in Johannesburg.
Westville travelled up to Gauteng having endured a challenging start to the season. The Griffin, going through a period of transition, with a younger, less experienced side, took their lumps in the early going, but they’ve been rounding into better form in recent outings.
“It’s been a tough year. We are not at our best, so the guys are doing a great job of competing,” Cameron Mackay, the Westville coach told Supersport Schools Plus earlier in the week.
When they left for Johannesburg, Westville was determined to put their best foot forward. However, they needed something special, perhaps someone to stand up and take on the responsibility of setting the example.
Simpson, the captain, raised his hand. He had done it many times previously as the leader of the 1st XI cricket side. On Saturday, he displayed that same BMT on the Astro.
Westville took a while to work their way into the contest. They traded barbs with KES, but none was lethal and the sides finished the first chukka deadlocked at 0-0.
In the second chukka, Westville had a better handle on the match and began to create opportunities. One of those chances was a penalty corner, shortly after the restart.
The visitors kept things simple with their shorties and that ploy was the key to their success. Simpson, doing duty at the first castle, unleashed a drag flick into the back of the net and the KZN side led 1-0.
“We were really good defensively and counterattacked from our low block very well,” Mackay told Supersport Schools Plus.
After going behind, KES tried to manufacture an immediate response, but they ran into a solid wall and were caught flatfooted by a Westville counterattack. The Griffin looked odds-on to double their advantage, but they were stopped by a foul inside the circle, and the umpire awarded the visitors a penalty stroke. Simpson took on the responsibility and made no mistake.
KES wasn’t about to fold in front of their home fans, so they threw everything at the visitors, creating a handful of chances, but they were denied by the Westville netminder, Bryce Powell-Rees, who performed heroics to see his side head into halftime still 2-0 ahead.
Eight minutes into the third chukka, Simpson made it 3-0. The build-up to the goal began when the visitors intercepted an aerial pass targeted at a KES player deep inside the Westville half. Simpson, then, received a pass a couple of metres into the KES half and accelerated into the hosts’ final third.
He fired off a shot immediately when he entered the KES circle but was denied by the home side’s keeper. Simpson, though, has quick reflexes and he pounced on the rebound, a few metres to his right, before slotting the ball into the back of the net.
The KZN side appeared to be cruising to victory and maintained their three-goal lead advantage until the final two-and-a-half minutes of the match. KES, in desperation, threw bodies into the visitors’ half and was rewarded with two late goals. However, they had left their response a little too late, and they couldn’t quite pull off a remarkable comeback.
Northwood was also in action in Johannesburg, where they faced the high-flying Jeppe High School for Boys. Unlike Westville, the Knights were unable to pull off an away win, going down 1-2 on the Boden AstroTurf.
RESULTS
Westville 3-2 KES
Jeppe 2-1 Northwood
