St Patrick’s College wins SPAR KZN Sisonke and Ugu Regional finals
St Patrick’s College was crowned the SPAR KZN Girls Hockey Sisonke and Ugu Regional champion after they defeated Southcity Christian School 1-0 in the final of their regional tournament, at Creston College, on Saturday.
The victory made St Patrick’s the eighth team to book a berth at the SPAR KZN Tournament Grand Finals, which will be hosted by St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, on 26 and 27 July.
They join Felixton College (KZN North Coastal Regional), Ashton Ballito (Durban North Regional), Maris Stella (Durban Central Regional), St Mary’s, DSG Kloof (Highway Regional), Epworth School (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional), St Anne’s Diocesan College (Pietermaritzburg North Regional), and Kingsway High (Durban South Regional) in the lineup.
St Patrick’s, who lifted the regional trophy last year, kicked off their campaign in Pool A, along with the hosts Creston College, Suid Natal High School, St Monica’s Diocesan School, Southcity Christian School, and Ixopo High School.
In group action, the defending champions bagged 16 out of a possible 20 points. They got the ball rolling with a 2-0 win over Ixopo, which they followed with a 3-0 victory over St Monica’s. They overcame Southcity 2-0, before registering a 2-0 triumph over Creston in their penultimate encounter. Their run of victories was stopped by Suid Natal in their final group match, who scraped a narrow 1-0 win.
Still, they topped Pool A, which secured them a semifinal clash with Kokstad College, who had finished second in Pool B.
Kokstad gave a good account of themselves in their group, scoring two wins, a draw, and a loss. They won against Bergview School (2-0) and Scottburgh High (4-0), were held to a 0-0 draw by King Edward High, and lost 1-2 to Port Shepstone High.
With a place in the final on the line, Kokstad gave St Patrick’s a good run for their money. They were unyielding and the contest ended 0-0 after regulation time. St Patrick’s, though, advanced 2-0 on penalties.
They faced Southcity for the second time on the day in the title game.
Southcity had finished in second place in Pool A, with their loss to St Patrick’s being their only defeat. They recorded wins over St Monica’s (1-0), Suid Natal (1-0), and Ixopo (3-0), and shared a goalless draw with Creston.
Those results and the second-place finish earned them a semi-final date with Pool B winners, Port Shepstone, who went unbeaten in the group. They beat King Edward 2-0, slotted another two unanswered goals past Scottburgh, edged Kokstad 2-1, and then overcame Bergview 2-0.
The Southcity versus Port Shepstone semi-final finished 1-1, but Southcity reached the final after claiming the penalty shootout 1-0.
Having faced Southcity earlier in the day, St Patrick’s knew how to win against their opponents for the title. Southcity tightened up their defence and did a better job in the final, but all St Patrick’s needed was one goal and they got it to claim the title by a 1-0 margin.
The SPAR KZN Girls’ Hockey Tournament will visit Ladysmith High School for the Pietermaritzburg Inland Regional competition on the 24 May, before heading to St Dominic’s, in Newcastle, for the KZN North Regional tournament on 31 May.
