St Andrew’s College crowned Grey High Water Polo Tournament champs
St Andrew’s College made history on Sunday when they became the first team to win the inaugural Grey High Water Polo Tournament in Gqeberha.
The boys from Makhanda defeated the hosts, Grey High, 8-7 in a hotly contested final to grab their first piece of silverware in almost two seasons.
The last time St Andrew’s won a tournament was in October 2024, when they defeated Selborne College in the final of the Woodridge Stayers, in Thornhill.
They performed superbly at Grey High from the get-go, dominating their pool before heading into the playoffs.
In the quarterfinals, they defeated Paarl Boys’ High 9-2 before edging out Reddam House Constantia 13-10 in the last four.
Grey, meanwhile, was also on an unbeaten run and posted wins over Hudson Park and Woodridge College, respectively, in the quarterfinals and semi-finals.
The final was expected to entertain, and it lived up to those expectations. After an absorbing first half, St Andrew’s carried a slim 3-2 lead into the break after making a fast start.
The third quarter was all about the visitors. They bossed proceedings and converted 80 percent of their chances to score four times. Grey mustered only a single goal in response, leaving the Makhanda boys 7-3 to the good as the contest headed into the final chukka.
Andrew Ellis extended the lead to 8-3. The outcome appeared to be done and dusted, but Grey, while down, was not out. They launched a furious fightback.
Jed Paterson scored a quick brace to cut the deficit to three goals before strikes by Caleb Levey and Christian Horne made it a one-goal game with minutes remaining.
In a nervy finish, Grey had one more opportunity to attack, but St Andrew’s College held on for the win.
“I was happy with the overall performance; the team stuck to our defensive structures, kept things simple and worked together as a unit,” St Andrew’s coach Grant Mackenzie said afterwards.
“Each game, we had built on what we would do going into the knockout stages. We know Grey has a strong attacking team and enjoys creating mismatches with their picks and screens. We made sure we did not concede too many easy goals and exploited their mistakes on defence.”
While the coach was pleased with his side’s effort, he reiterated the importance of working on closing off games.
St Andrew’s will return to tournament action in two weeks at the Vides Water Polo Tournament, which takes place at East London’s Selborne College.
“Our main aim before Vides is to stay injury-free, keep the momentum and work on converting our extra-man opportunities.
“We also need to tighten our defence and ensure teams work hard to score goals,” Mackenzie said.
St Andrew’s finished in second place at last year’s Vides Tournament, losing to St David’s Marist Inanda in the final.
Results
Grey Invitational 4-6 Stirling High (9th/10th)
Hudson Park 1-8 Paarl Boys’ High (7th/8th)
Pearson High 6-8 Glenwood House (5th/6th)
Woodridge College 7-9 Reddam House (3rd/4th)
St Andrew’s College 8-7 Grey High (Final)
