Southern Gauteng B side’s fairytale run to end with bronze playoff
After an impressive run at the u18 SASHOC National Week, the Southern Gauteng B side will fight for bronze on the last day of the event following a 0-2 defeat to Southern Gauteng A in the semi-finals on Thursday in Bloemfontein.
The Southerns’ B side gave their senior counterparts a tough contest but eventually succumbed to defeat, beaten but unbowed.
They took on their semi-final challenge with confidence after pulling off successive victories on Wednesday over Northern Free State and Eastern Province.
Both sides exhibited stubborn defences, with coach Lance Louw‘s B side defending solidly, including when they conceded a couple of penalty corners, and the teams went into halftime goalless.
In the 41st minute, Hannah Quinton broke the deadlock. That goal led to an increase in the intensity of the clash.
It took until the last minute for Southern Gauteng A to secure their victory with a second goal. This time it was Amber Fairon who slotted a field goal.
Although his team went down, Southern Gauteng B coach Louw was, nonetheless, thrilled with the performance of his side throughout the SASHOC National Week.
“It’s always going to be tough playing the A side,” he said, “but we stayed in the game for a long time, with just one lack of concentration, a penalty corner, and we kept out six.
“Kudos to the girls,” he added. “They did well. We didn’t think we would make it this far, but we did.”
Witsies will face another stiff challenge in the battle for bronze when they tackle KZN Coastal A on Friday.
Jacinta Wedderburn‘s charges went unbeaten through their pool fixtures. On Thursday, though, they were eliminated from title contention after they played to a 1-1 draw with Northern Gauteng, before going down 2-3 in a penalty shootout.
The KZN outfit’s challenge began with a 3-1 win over Eastern Province on Sunday. On day two, they overwhelmed Northern Free State 8-1, and they followed that up with a 1-0 win over Boland later that same day.
Southerns’ B proved to be tough opponents, but Coastal claimed a 1-0 win. On Wednesday, they beat their neighbours KwaZulu-Natal Inland 2-1.
The rematch between KZN Coastal and Southern Gauteng B should be a captivating clash. Louw said his team is eager to have another crack at the KZN side.
“We’re playing KZN Coastal again, and it’s going to be a tough game. Obviously, they are very upset about not making it to the final, but our girls are here to make sure that we make their job as hard as possible.
“We had a really good game against them…so tomorrow we are not going to give up.
“We are going to come back even stronger and rectify what we did wrong today and make sure we rectify the mistake that gave them the goal in that game,” he concluded.
