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Southern Free State ready to defend their title

By CS Chiwanza , in Hockey | Featured Hockey | News , at 2024-05-24 Tags:

Photo: SASHOC on Facebook, teamphotosa.co.za
Photo: SASHOC on Facebook, teamphotosa.co.za

Last year’s champions, Southern Free State, head into the 2024 u18 SASHOC National Week ready to defend their title in front of their home supporters and make it three provincial crowns in three years.

This year’s side has a different makeup to the 2023 team that won four of their five matches and drew one.

Last year’s team was stronger defensively. Though Taheera Augousti was one of the tournament’s top goal-scorers, with five goals to her name, Southern Free State finished with only the fourth-most goals in the tournament. However, they conceded the least. In fact, no team was able to breach their defence in their five outings.

For this year’s event, their coach, Sulette Kotzee has a squad at her disposal which reflects the qualities she seeks. “My style of play is speed and attacking hockey. So, I looked at pacy players and go-getters, players who have forward first mentality,” Kotzee explained.

Someone who encompasses that approach is Eunice’s Bianca Rees-Gibbs. The 17-year-old is one of the most exciting forwards in the game, with the ability to singlehandedly change the course of a match. She has, on several instances, won games for her school and the u16 provincial team with moments of magic.

Rees-Gibbs won’t have to do it all alone, however. Southern Free State has a good number of accomplished attacking players including Anebel Venter, Itumeleng Semoli, Nthati Monyai, Reatile Pitso, and Quincley Norris.

That menacing-looking frontline will be fed by the industrious Georgia Kambanis. Kambanis, Venter, and Rees-Gibbs will bring their chemistry from Eunice to the Southern Free State side.

“We also have Mia Schimper, our workhorse in the middle, who brings a lot of flair to the game, and then Cale Potgieter, who is also an exciting player to watch,” Kotzee elaborated.

The Southern Free State line-up is well-balanced. They have the rock-solid Anriette Otto at the back. Thanks to her skills and organisation, Oranje has been tough to break down this season.

To paraphrase Kotzee, the Southern Free State captain is a sergeant when marshalling the defence, she reads the game well, and regularly picks off the opposition’s forward passes. If teams do manage to squeeze past Otto, they will come face-to-face with her school teammate, Mira Rossouw. She’s been a wall in goal for Oranje.

“We are lucky enough to work with a talented group and have quite a few exciting players. But I’m hoping the whole team will put their hands up and give us exciting and good hockey to watch,” Kotzee shared.

While she is optimistic about her team, she is also cautious. She is quick to acknowledge that the other teams are also stacked with talented players. “It’s going to be a tough competition as many of the provinces have a handful of talented players, so we will have to work very hard to get to our end goal, but it will start by focusing on one game at a time,” she said.

The Southern Free State coach also admitted that there is the pressure of expectations on the girls’ shoulders. “I do think the girls are feeling the pressure as we have won the tournament back-to-back, and it is again a home crowd, so they will most probably feel it is expected for them to win the tournament,” Kotzee said.

She hopes her team will not focus too much on the expectations. “I just want them to play good hockey, play as a team. and enjoy it, and the rest will come,” she concluded.

Southern Free State team: Georgia Kambanis, Khumo Madito, Katlego Maritz, Mia Schimper, Nthathi Monyai, Terrin Muller, Quincley Norris, Anriette Otto, Reatile Pitso, Cale Potgieter, Anné Prinsloo, Bianca Rees-Gibbs, Mira Rossouw, Itumeleng Semoli, Anebel Venter, Tavia Williams.

CS Chiwanza
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.