Top teams shine on an action-packed day one of St Anne’s Cup
Durban Girls’ College (DGC), St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) and St Anne’s were among the main winners on day one of the St Anne’s Cup in Hilton on Friday.
DGC fired nine goals past Waterkloof and Beaulieu as they recorded two victories on day one, while the hosts, St Anne’s, defeated Beaulieu 3-0 and shared the spoils with Waterkloof in a 2-2 draw.
While all eight matches played on the first day of the tournament were highly competitive, the main event was the Pool B showdown between powerhouses Eunice and St Mary’s.
St Mary’s needed only 20 seconds of the match to make a telling impact. Elizabeth Anderson has been a handful for opposition teams this year and she showed why when she made a run into the Eunice D and played a perfect pass from the by-line to Alex Bowyer, who coolly slotted the ball into the Eunice goal.
The early goal shook Nika Coertzen‘s charges, who took a little time to get into their groove.
Anderson posed a constant threat to the Eunice defence. When an opportunity presented itself with four minutes left in the first chukka, Eunice’s first wave runners were a second late in reacting to her run to the right of goal. That delay afforded her enough time to line up her shot and she did not miss the target. It was her second goal of the tournament.
Eunice needed to make changes to adapt to the way Carla Anne Mackay’s charges were playing if they were to stand a chance in the contest.
As they had done in the morning, the St Mary’s players were linking up well. “The girls are really starting to sync up nicely. They are creating some good attacking opportunities,” Mackay said after their 2-0 win over Menlopark. They approached the Eunice game in the same manner.
“I made adjustments at halftime. One of my girls who plays centre-back, started going up front for me. I rolled my bench a bit. We needed to spare the legs for the next games,” Coertzen said after the match.
The changes in structure the Eunice coach made paid dividends. Her side emerged revitalised in the second chukka.
They created an opportunity two minutes into the quarter and Trustan Barnard did not squander it, executing a classy reverse stick shot to half the St Mary’s lead. It was the Eunice captain’s second goal of the tournament.
St Mary’s responded to that goal with a foray on the Eunice goalbox. St Mary’s could have expanded their lead to 3-1 after back-to-back short corners, which led to a penalty stroke. Unfortunately, for the Kloof girls, Anderson’s effort was deflected over the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, Georgia Pollock hit a post.
St Mary’s finished the first half nervously, scrambling to defend against Eunice’s attacks after their missed opportunities.
When they came back for the third quarter, they looked settled once more. They sought to impose themselves on the game, but Eunice’s defence was unyielding. However, the Bloemfontein girls were not sitting back and waiting for St Mary’s to attack. They took the game to the opposition and put the KZN side under pressure.
However, when Eunice equalised, it was more of an out-of-the-blue effort, but it was special.
A Eunice defender sent a speculative pass towards the left of the St Mary’s goal. Bianca Rees-Gibbs, who was hanging high, deep in the circle on the right, realised that St Mary’s thought they could let the ball run over the backline. Unsighted, she sprinted across from the right, rounded the keeper, picked up the ball and smashed it at goal from an acute angle.
Rees-Gibbs’ goal, though, seemed to inject new life into the tired legs of the St Mary’s players.
As they did after Eunice’s first goal, St Mary’s responded with a spirited attack that resulted in a penalty corner. After several retakes, Cassandra Forbes, who has been a standout performer for Saints this season, shot across the ‘keeper and into the far corner to put her side in front again.
Eunice and their captain Trustan Barnard almost secured a last gasp draw when they won a penalty corner as time ran out. Barnard’s shot was just kept out by the St Mary’s keeper, and when the ball was cleared over the sideline the local lasses had snatched a narrow victory.
“You can never rule Eunice out of a contest. They are pure grit and pace and counter. That goal from Bianca, you can’t teach that. We had a few nervy moments at the end, but my girls defended with their lives. I am proud of the girls for grinding out a win against a good team,” coach Carla Ann Mackay, looking relieved, said after the contest.
Coertzen was complimentary of St Mary’s: “They played a good passing game. Going down 0-2, we didn’t stay there, we kept on fighting.
“We got a short corner at the end and almost got a goal from it. We kept fighting. I am really proud of my girls.
“We’ve had a tough two weeks, and our objective was to make a comeback. We lost 2-4 to St John’s earlier this year and we beat them 3-1 this morning, which was very good.”
POOLS
Pool A
St Anne’s Diocesan College, Durban Girls’ College, Waterkloof, Beaulieu College
Pool B
St Mary’s DSG, Eunice, Menlopark, St John’s DSG
Results
St Anne’s 3-0 Beaulieu, Waterkloof 1-3 DGC, Eunice 3-1 St John’s, St Mary’s 2-0 Menlopark, DGC 6-3 Beaulieu, St Anne’s 2-2 Waterkloof, St Mary’s 3-2 Eunice, St John’s 0-3 Menlopark.
FIXTURES
Saturday
08:00 – St John’s vs St Mary’s, 08:00 – Menlopark vs Eunice, 09:15 – St Anne’s vs DGC, 09:15 – Waterkloof vs Beaulieu, 13:00 – A3 vs B4, 13:00 – A4 vs B3, 14:15 – A2 vs B1, 15:00 – A1 vs B2.
Sunday
08:00 – 5 & 6, 08:00 – 7 & 8, 09:15 – 3 & 4, 10:30 – Final.
