Three teams remain unbeaten as the curtain closes on Tony Godding Festival
Only three teams remained unbeaten after four days of exciting hockey action as the annual Belgotex Tony Godding Festival wound down on Sunday afternoon.
St Andrew’s College, Grey High and Selborne College were the only sides to keep clean records at the hockey extravaganza, named after the former player, coach and administrator. The event, now into its seventh year, was co-hosted by Clarendon, Selborne, Cambridge, Stirling, and Merrifield.
A closely contested 1-1 draw between Hudson Park and Woodridge brought an end to the action. That tie was preceded by a 12-noon double-header: Cambridge against Pearson at the Cambridge Astro, and in the other match, a showdown between Grey College and St Andrew’s College at Selborne College.
The Cambridge-Pearson contest was a mismatch. Heading into the contest, Cambridge had conceded 28 goals and scored only two, while Pearson had scored five and conceded three, boasting a win over Queen’s and a 1-1 draw against St Andrew’s School. The result was an expected 5-0 win for Pearson.
The Grey College versus St Andrew’s College match would have been a perfect way to close off the event. St Andrew’s had quietly gone about registering wins in a manner that demonstrated consistency, with 3-0 wins against Hudson Park and Voortrekker and a 5-0 victory over Merrifield.
The Makhanda-based team entered the contest as the only team yet to concede in the festival. Grey College, on the other hand, waltzed into the clash with a reputation for being prolific in front of goal.
Grey began their Tony Godding campaign like a house on fire and did not give their opposition breathing room. Coach Wayne Coetzee’s team had rammed 23 goals past their opponents in four matches, conceding only once. Only a strong and stubborn team could stop that runaway train. That strong and stubborn team turned out to be St Andrew’s College.
While they gave up a first goal of the festival, St Andrew’s rallied and overcame Coetzee’s charges to inflict a first defeat of the season on Grey by a 2-1 margin.
The festival was a good proving ground for Kenneth John (KJ) Friend and his Selborne College outfit. They had produced solid wins over the Phoenix Hockey Club and Merrifield in the lead-up to the event, but Friend felt that they needed more competition for him to determine how far they had come. By all appearances, his players are primed and ready for their next assignment, the Nomads u18 Tournament in Pietermaritzburg, which starts on 20 March.
Selborne registered early wins against St Andrew’s School, Woodridge, and Linden, and finished off their campaign with an 8-0 massacre of Voortrekker. Gilbert and his teammates completed the festival having netted 22 times and given up only a single goal.
The other unbeaten side, Andrew Beynon’s Grey High, quietly went about their business, scoring a ton of goals while conceding next to nothing in their matches. The Gqeberha team’s record included putting 11, four, five and six past Cambridge, St Andrew’s School, Stirling and Hudson Park respectively over the four days while conceding only a single goal to St Andrew’s School. Like their namesake, Grey College, they were prolific in front of goal and excellent in defence.
Dale College had a slow start, drawing 1-1 with Curro Waterstone. After that early stumble, they recovered to record a 4-3 win over Voortrekker. They later wound down their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Linden.
The campaign will be a great confidence booster for the Qonce outfit, who endured a nightmarish season last year. There’s nothing that uplifts a programme quite as much as stacking a few wins together.
After a competitive weekend in the Eastern Cape, the top teams are now wiping their hockey sticks, polishing their skills, and composing themselves as they prepare for some major tournaments in the coming week, including Nomads, Founders and the Coastal Cup.
Results
Westering 3-2 Duineveld, Framesby 0-1 Montana, Alex Rd 4-2 Krugersdorp, Selborne 8-0 Bethlehem Voortrekker, Dale 5-0 Linden, Stirling 0-5 Grey High, Pearson 5-0 Cambridge, Grey College 1-2 St Andrews College, Linden 1-4 Selborne, Hudson Park 1-1 Woodridge.
