St Stithians and Reddam House the standouts at Saints Easter Fest
The final day of the Standard Bank St Stithians Hockey Festival, in Johannesburg, on Saturday, produced a whopping 33 goals across 10 matches as the teams wrapped up the action after three days of intense hockey.
Of those 33, Reddam House Constantia scored 11, while the hosts netted three to finish their campaign on a high.
It was a challenging festival for sides like Hilton College, Clifton College, Die Hoërskool Menlopark, and St David’s Marist Inanda.
While they struggled to get over the line, Reddam and Saints went about their business quietly and efficiently and racked up victories.
After a sizzling performance on Wednesday, which brought them a thrilling victory over Hilton College, the hosts defeated Clifton College 3-1 on Thursday and ended the festival with a 3-2 win over St Andrew’ College, another in-form team.
Aidan Blatch has been the name on everybody’s lips, and he duly delivered again against the Makhanda school. Lanky, unpredictable, and dangerous, he scored a brace before Jason Joiner netted to secure a hard-fought 3-2 win.
Joining Saints on the winning trail was Reddam, who recorded two emphatic victories. Coach Alex Gitlin’s side defeated St Benedict’s College 4-1 before overrunning the St Stithians College Festival Team 7-0.
Against Bennies, Charlie Naylor was on fire and bagged a pair before Kyle Jones and Chris Stewart got in on the scoring action.
Captain Joe Gitlin, Naylor, and Jones were on the scoreboard again in the match against the Saints Festival team, while Reese Hayes and Mitchell Welch completed the drubbing.
It was another superb showing from the Cape Town outfit, who picked up from where they left off at the Independent Schools Hockey Festival earlier this month.
St Andrew’s College was probably the third-best team at the festival and suffered only that one loss against the hosts.
Coach Dean Ferreira’s troops played exciting hockey throughout the weekend and on Saturday picked up a 3-0 win over St David’s Marist Inanda.
Connor McNamara struck twice before Jean de Villiers sealed the win for his side.
While St Andrew’s College impressed, Hilton College was frustrated.
In their five matches, coach Damian Kimfley‘s boys mustered one win, three draws, and a loss, which came against the hosts on day one.
They were held to draws by the Pretoria trio of Menlopark, Affies, and Pretoria Boys High for the second time this season after the sides played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Nomads Hockey Festival last month.
Clifton College, meanwhile, ended their festival on a high with a 4-1 win over Menlopark, while Affies failed to find the back of the net, including against Clifton, as both of their matches on Saturday ended in goalless draws.
RESULTS
Affies 0-0 Clifton
Hilton 2-2 Pretoria Boys High
Reddam Constantia 4-1 St Benedict’s
St Andrew’s College 3-0 St David’s Marist Inanda
Clifton 4-1 Menlopark
Affies 0-0 Hilton College
Reddam House Constantia 7-0 St Stithians Festival Team
Pretoria Boys High 1-1 St David’s Marist Inanda
St Benedict’s 2-1 Menlopark
St Stithians 3-2 St Andrew’s College
CLICK HERE FOR DAY 1 RESULTS
CLICK HERE FOR DAY 2 RESULTS
