Swanepoel pleased with Paarl Gim’s hot start at Hibbert Shield
Paarl Gimnasium‘s first-team hockey captain, Juan Swanepoel, praised his side after they made an impressive start at the Hibbert Shield, scoring an eye-opening 5-0 victory over the hosts, Grey High School, in Gqeberha, on Wednesday.
In their opening match of the tournament, Gim put on a masterclass, dismantling the home side and restricting them from scoring at the Rectory AstroTurf.
It was their third outing in quick succession after they beat Grey College 4-2 and St Andrew’s School 4-1, in Bloemfontein, over the past weekend.
“It was a really good game. We set a couple of goals before the game, and we achieved them,” Swanepoel told SuperSport Schools Plus, in Gqeberha.
“There’s a lot we still need to work on, but it’s always hard coming to Grey and playing them at home, so I think we did exceptionally well today.”
Like they’ve done all season, Gim sealed the win by capitalising on their opportunities at penalty corner time, while their creative players pulled the strings in the midfield.
At the top of the circle, Swanepoel, along with Phillip Barnard and Reinhardt Honiball, scored via drag flicks, while Stefan Wiehahn and Josh Smit netted field goals.
Despite the flying start, the skipper insisted that Paarl Gim is far from a finished product.
“We set the standard for the tournament, and we’re going to go out of our way to maintain that standard,” he explained. “We focus on counterattacking hockey, but I think we need to be able to keep the ball for the majority of the game.
“We want to dictate the game better, but I’m happy with how we’re playing at the moment.”
Gim had only one fixture on the opening day, but they’ll return on Thursday with matches against Westville Boys’ High and St Stithians College, with both being played at the Collegiate Girls’ AstroTurf.
“The most important thing now for us is to be humble and stay grounded. We can’t get arrogant. Yes, we are confident, but, as a group, we want to take every game as it comes,” Swanepoel said.
Paarl Gim will face Westville at 08:00 before taking on Saints at 14:00.
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