St Mary’s DSG dominates day one of SPAR KZN Tournament Grand Final
The hosts, St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), put on a dominant show, winning all of their matches on Saturday, the first day of the KZN SPAR Tournament Grand Final.
Those convincing performances secured Saints a semi-final berth. Two other semi-finalists, Durban Girls’ College (DGC) and St John’s DSG, also went unbeaten, although they failed to win all of their matches. The Wykeham Collegiate (TWC) was the only top-four side to suffer a defeat.
Jamie da Silva and Elizabeth Anderson were in top form, scoring most of the goals for St Mary’s, who outscored everyone else.
The hosts put away 24 unanswered goals on their way to the top of Pool B. Carla Ann Mackay‘s charges began their campaign with a 3-0 win over Ferrum High and were unstoppable throughout the day.
They followed up that win with a 9-0 rout of St Patrick’s College. Then, they recorded an eye-opening 4-0 victory over a more than useful TWC outfit. Saints completed their day’s assignments with an 8-0 thrashing of Ladysmith High School.
In the semifinals, St Mary’s will go toe-to-toe with DGC in a replay of the St Anne’s Cup final. Saints won that match 4-0, but Mackay is cautious and unwilling to look to that encounter as a predictor of things to come.
Although unbeaten, DGC was not as dominant as St Mary’s. Chardinay Penniston‘s charges registered two wins and two draws on their way to a second-place finish in Pool A.
DGC looked like the team to beat after they handed Amanzimtoti a 3-0 defeat in their first match. However, their campaign hit a snag when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Our Lady of Fatima.
DGC bounced back with a 6-0 hammering of Grantleigh before they were held to another goalless draw by table toppers St John’s DSG. Penniston, though, will likely be encouraged not disappointed by her charges’ showing on day one; DGC’s was a young lineup, missing a host of stars who were selected for SA Schools this year.
Phillip Smerdon‘s St John’s DSG team kept four clean sheets, picking up three wins and a draw on their way to the summit of Pool A.
They opened their account with a crucial 1-0 win over Our Lady of Fatima and followed that up with a 2-0 victory over Grantleigh. Then, they walloped Amanzimtoti 7-0. In their last pool outing, their defence remained unblemished, but DGC held them to a goalless draw.
On Sunday, St John’s DSG will face Pool B runners-up, TWC, in a meeting of Pietermaritzburg rivals.
TWC impressed with three wins and a single loss on Saturday.
They kicked off their tournament challenge with a 4-0 win over Ladysmith, which was followed by a 2-0 triumph against Ferrum High.
Their run of victories was interrupted by a 0-4 setback against St Mary’s, but they ended their day by reversing that scoreline in a victory over St Patrick’s.
TWC’s 10 goals on day one equalled the St John’s tally. That fact, and the fact that they know each other well as city rivals, sets up a final four showdown which will likely be tightly contested.
It’s a third appearance in the Grand Final for both schools, who kept their records intact of making the semi-finals on each occasion when they previously contested the event.
Now, one of them has an opportunity to create history by progressing to the final for a first time.
RESULTS
Pool A
DGC 3-0 Amanzimtoti
St John’s DSG 1-0 Our Lady of Fatima
Grantleigh 2-0 Amanzimtoti
Our Lady of Fatima 0-0 DGC
St John’s DSG 2-0 Grantleigh
Our Lady of Fatima 9-0 Amanzimtoti
DGC 6-0 Grantleigh
St John’s DSG 7-0 Amanzimtoti
Our Lady of Fatima 3-0 Grantleigh
St John’s DSG 0-0 DGC
Pool B
TWC 4-0 Ladysmith High
St Mary’s DSG 3-0 Ferrum High
St Patrick’s College 2-0 Ladysmith
TWC 2-0 Ferrum High
St Mary’s DSG 9-0 St Patrick’s
Ferrum High 2-0 Ladysmith
St Mary’s DSG 4–0 TWC
Ferrum High 2-0 St Patrick’s College
St Mary’s DSG 8-0 Ladysmith High
TWC 4-0 St Patrick’s
Sunday’s Fixtures
08:30 – Grantleigh vs Ferrum
09:05 – Our Lady of Fatima vs St Patrick’s
09:40 – DGC vs St Mary’s DSG
10:15 – St John’s DSG vs TWC
10:50 – Amanzimtoti vs Ladysmith
11:25 – Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2 (7th/8th)
12:30 – Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2 (5th/6th)
13:10 – Loser Game 3 vs Loser Game 4 (3rd/4th)
13:50 – Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4 (1st/2nd)
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