Super-tight competition at the Springfield Hockey Festival
The level of schoolgirls’ hockey in the Western Cape is rapidly rising, and the weekend’s action at the Springfield Convent School Pre-Season Festival proved that.
Seven top teams assembled at the school on St Johns Road, for a series of pre-season matches on 14-15 March.
It was another opportunity for the hosts, Paarl Girls’ High, Wynberg Girls’ High, St Cyprian’s School, and Parel Vallei, to get match minutes under their belts after they participated in last week’s Spar Hockey Festival.
Paarl Gimnasium was in action for the first time, while Rustenburg Girls’ High School had already faced Rhenish Girls’ High School twice.
Gim, who played three matches on Friday, began their season with a goalless draw against Parel Vallei before playing to a 1-1 stalemate with Springfield. They ended the day with a 1-0 win over St Cyprian’s School.
Day two delivered a much better showing from coach Danelle van Zyl‘s side. They scored eight goals, beating Rustenburg Girls’ High 2-0, and Wynberg Girls’ 6-0 before being held to a goalless draw by their rivals, Paarl Girls’ High.
“We have a young team that still needs a lot of experience in pressure situations,” coach Van Zyl told SuperSport Schools Plus after the second day’s play.
“We played better as a team together as the weekend progressed, but, with that said, we have to use our opportunities, especially in short games.”
After going unbeaten at the Spar Hockey Festival last weekend, St Cyprian’s School impressed again. Coach Natalie Esteves’s girls lost just once, against Gim.
They, also, played to a goalless draw against Paarl Girls’ High before beating Parel Vallei 2-0, Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0, and Wynberg Girls’ 5-1.
It was competitive all around, with almost nothing to separate some of the teams, which was best demonstrated in the results of Springfield, who drew five of their six matches before a 0-1 loss against Rustenburg Girls’ High.
Parel Vallei, led by coach Wayne Coetzee, also scored an impressive 1-0 win over Wynberg Girls’ High on Friday before edging out Paarl Girls’ High 1-0 on Saturday.
Only 29 goals were scored in the 21 matches, which was evidence of the slim margins, if any, that there were between the teams. There were nine goalless draws, with six of those occurring on the first day.
The Western Cape girls teams will return to turf action next weekend. Stay glued to SuperSport Schools and SuperSport Schools Plus for more updates.
DAY 1
Rustenburg Girls’ High School 1-1 Wynberg Girls’ High
Paarl Girls’ High 0-0 St Cyprian’s School
Paarl Gimnasium 0-0 Parel Vallei
Springfield Convent School 0-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Rustenburg Girls’ High School 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High
St Cyprian’s School 3-2 Parel Vallei
Springfield Convent School 1-1 Paarl Gimasium
Paarl Girls’ High 1-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Rustenburg Girls’ High 0-0 Parel Vallei
Paarl Gimnasium 1-0 St Cyprian’s School
Springfield Convent School 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High
DAY 2
Parel Vallei 1-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Paarl Gimnasium 2-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
Springfield Convent School 0-0 St Cyprian’s School
Parel Vallei 1-0 Paarl Girls’ High
Paarl Gimnasium 6-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0 Springfield Convent School
Paarl Gimnasium 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High
St Cyprian’s School 1-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
Springfield Convent School 0-0 Parel Vallei
St Cyprian’s School 5-1 Wynberg Girls’ High
