The stage is set for KZN Coastal and Inland A-League finals
The Mancosa KwaZulu-Natal High Schools Football Association (KZNHSFA) Second-Term Coastal and Inland Leagues have delivered fantastic competition this season, especially in the Coastal competition, where the traditional powers have been challenged and stretched.
Coastal A-League
Hillcrest High has crafted a fairytale run to the final of the league for the first time in the school’s history. They’ll face Westville Boys’ High on Tuesday, 10 June, for the title.
Based on their performances in past seasons, few would have anticipated what Hillcrest High has been able to achieve this year. However, look at where we stand – we, as football enthusiasts, fans, writers, and commentators, are in awe of what coach Cayle Marillier has accomplished by leading a very young squad to the final of the Coastal A-League, which in recent seasons has belonged to Westville, and Glenwood High.
With any of the top four teams in with a shot at qualifying for the final, Tuesday’s last round of round-robin matches, which featured the top four in action against one another – Hillcrest High vs Port Shepstone and Westville Boys’ High vs the two-time defending champion, Glenwood – was for high stakes.
Hillcrest High played to a tight 1-1 draw against Sheppie, while Westville came from a goal down late in their match to grab a 1-1 draw with Glenwood, which eliminated the Green Machine on goal difference.
Westville celebrated the draw, as it lifted their points’ tally to 17 and first place in the standings. Hillcrest High finished second with 16 points, which was matched by Glenwood, who miss out on the final after making it for three seasons in succession. Port Shepstone rounded out the top four with 13 points.
While the upper section of the table generated excitement, there was, also, great anxiety at the opposite end of the standings where Northwood pulled off a Houdini act and escaped relegation by picking up their first win of the season, a 3-0 defeat of Pinetown Boys’ High, after they had previously suffered five losses and played to one draw.
Unfortunately for Empangeni High School, which was promoted from the Coastal B-League to the Coastal A-League this season, they’ll be returning to the B-League after going down 0-2 to Bechet.
The Zululand school finished with one less point than Northwood after winning one match and losing six.
Inland A-League
The last round of matches in the Inland A-League’s round-robin stage had no bearing on the finalists. It was already known that Maritzburg College and Carter High School had qualified for the title decider.
What was left to be decided, however, was which team would be relegated.
On Tuesday, at Barns Field, Haythorne Secondary confronted a daunting challenge, competing against the league-leading College and needing a win to avoid going down. They gave it a good go and battled their way to a 1-1 draw, but they needed three points and not one, and their relegation was confirmed.
Newton was also in the danger zone, and were beaten 5-2 by Edendale Technical High, but they had done just enough in previous rounds to finish seventh and remain in the A-League.
Edendale, newcomers to the A-League, completed their first season in the top-flight with 13 points, only one point behind second-placed Carter High.
Surprisingly, Carter was on the losing end on the final day, going down 0-2 to Alexandra High. Still, their place in the final next Tuesday had already been secured.
There was plenty of excitement in the match between Ixopo and Linpark, with Ixopo winning by the odd goal in five.
Results
Coastal A
Northwood 3-0 Pinetown
Bechet 2-0 Empangeni
Hillcrest High 1-1 Port Shepstone
Glenwood 1-1 Westville
Inland A
Edendale 5-2 Newton
Alexandra 2-0 Carter
Haythorne 1-1 Maritzburg College
Ixopo 3-2 Linpark
Final Table Standings
Coastal A-League
| School | PLD | W | D | L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | ||
| 1 | Westville
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 8 | |
| 2 | Hillcrest High | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 6 | |
| 3 | Glenwood | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 5 | |
| 4 | Port Shepstone | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 6 | |
| 5 | Bechet | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -5 | |
| 6 | Pinetown | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -7 | |
| 7 | Northwood | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 9 | -2 | |
| 8 | Empangeni | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 15 | -11 |
Inland A-League
| School | PLD | W | D | L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
| 1 | Maritzburg College | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 11 |
| 2 | Carter High | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Edendale | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Ixopo | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| 5 | Alexandra High | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 9 | -1 |
| 6 | Linpark | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| 7 | Newton | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | -16 |
| 8 | Haythorne | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -6 |
Forthcoming Fixtures
Thursday, 5 June: Coastal B
Queensburgh High School
Field 1
15:10 – Grosvenor vs Redwood
16:15 – Amanzimtoti vs Ashton Ballito B
Field 2
15:10 – Durban High School vs Sastri
16:15 – New Forest vs Queensburgh High
Thursday, 5 June: Inland B
Alexandra High School
Field 1
15:00 – Alexandra High School B vs Heritage Academy
Field 2
15:00 – Maritzburg College B vs Thornhill
16:05 – ML Sultan vs Northbury Park
Friday, 6 June: Coastal C Final
Queensburgh High School
Field 1
15:30 – Canaan College vs Brettonwood
