Wins for Selborne and Hudson, Stirling vs Queens ends in a stalemate

There were hard-fought wins for Selborne College and Hudson Park High School on the opening weekend of the inter-schools’ hockey season in the Eastern Cape on Friday night.
Selborne edged Pearson High School 2-1 in Gqeberha, while Hudson won by the same scoreline against Cambridge High School in East London. Meanwhile, Stirling High and Queen’s College shared four goals in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Selborne made the trip to the Windy City high in confidence, chasing a 15th consecutive victory since the season started.
They had picked up 14 wins during the school holidays at the Tony Godding Festival, Nomads Hockey Festival, and the King Edward VII Easter Hockey Festival.
Pearson, on the other hand, entered the clash after mixed results at the Tony Godding Festival, and the Coastal Cup in KwaZulu-Natal.
Riding their momentum, Selborne was quickly out of the blocks, scoring in the first chukka through Jacques van der Merwe.
The goal came after excellent inter-linking play between the defence and midfield players, and Van der Merwe found himself in the right place at the right time, with the ball landing on his stick before he calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner to put the visitors 1-0 ahead.
They doubled their tally with seconds remaining in the first chukka through a Cade Kock cracker. Kock received the ball in the box with his back facing the defence. Reacting speedily, he quickly scooped it up with his stick, turned, and fired into the back of the net.
That goal sparked Pearson into life, and they started to forge a foothold in the match.
Four minutes into the second chukka, coach Dallan Phillips’s boys were awarded a penalty corner and they made it count. Zack Willimot’s drag flick cut the deficit to one goal at half-time.
The last two chukkas of the match didn’t produce any goals, although both teams created several chances to add to their tallies. Selborne maintained much of the ball possession but none of their scoring opportunities were clear-cut.
Pearson won a number of short corners but failed to find another finish. It ended 2-1 and Selborne College had their 15th consecutive win.
In East London, Hudson Park edged out Cambridge High 2-1.
Coach Siphe Matafeni’s side was made to work hard for the 2-1 win, with Ayola Rubushe and Somila Mkhokeli striking for Hudson.
They will next turn their attention to the u18 Oakhill Co-Ed Festival, which starts on Wednesday.
Stirling High School will surely be happy with how they performed against Queen’s College on the opening weekend.
After going down 0-2 and looking dead and buried, the boys in green and white pulled off a comeback for the ages to steal a 2-2 draw.
They were aided to a share of the spoils by a double from Hisharm Pillay. Their next assignment will be to face Pearson in Gqeberha next weekend.
Scorers:
Selborne College (2): Jaques van der Merwe, Cade Kock. Pearson High (1): Zack Willimot
Hudson Park (2): Ayola Rubushe, Somila Mkhokeli. Cambridge High (1): Aqhama Mdlulwa
Stirling High School (2): Hisharm Pillay (x2). Queens College (2): Brett Hoffman, Damian Miles.
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