WP defuse KZN challenge to reach title game
With a comfortable 11-5 win over Western Province B, KwaZulu-Natal A set up a semi-final clash against tournament favourites, Western Province, on Tuesday evening at the Schools Water Polo South Africa Tournament, taking place in Gqeberha.
After going down to Central Gauteng A in a heavyweight Pool A clash on Monday, the KZN boys knew they would have to go about it the hard way, if they were to lay claim to the inter-provincial title.
With the stands packed, it was clear that playoff water polo was on the menu. The big question was whether or not Western Province would be ready to raise their game against Stef Swart and company, who had at least already been through a serious test against Central Gauteng A. Province had played less challenging opposition than the defending champions on their way to top spot in Pool B.
Very quickly, the answer revealed itself. Western Province A was up for the game and then some.
They opened the scoring early on, but KZN found a fantastic equaliser through Warwick Field. Province, though, controlled possession and moved the ball around nicely to open up a 4-1 lead after the first chukka.
It looked as if the contest was about to get out of hand for KZN, but credit to coach Jason Sileno‘s charges, they pulled it back to 4-2. Province scored again, however, but right at the start of the third chukka, KwaZulu-Natal netted another to make it 5-3.
Province, though, were unphased. Calm and composed, they took everything KZN threw at them, rolled with the punches and came back at them with assured passing and some outstanding finishing. Twice in succession they struck from a man advantage and soon extended their lead to 7-3. There was little chance that KZN could recover from that deficit with only one chukka remaining.
They tried manfully, but Western Province did not let up and maintained their structure and intensity up until the final whistle.
Commenting afterwards, Province coach Jabulani Sibiya said: “I’m really impressed with the guys. I thought that throughout the tournament we’ve been working hard on upping our intensity. We had a bit of a slow start, but what I really liked about the guys is we trusted the process. We went chukka by chukka, and I think that we managed to leave it all out there, and in the end take the game convincingly.”
On the big stage, SACS left-hander, Nick Fall, showed big match temperament as he torched KwaZulu-Natal, scoring four times, while also playing an integral role in his side’s sharp ball movement.
“Nick Fall is such a natural talent,” Sibiya said. “What I like about our top left shooters is there are a lot of guys who know that they’re good shooters, and they’ve managed to change that into an assisting game, which shows a holistic approach. Everyone is used to them putting the ball in the back of the net, but water polo is more than that. It’s the pass. It’s the distribution. It’s the defence. I think that is what Nick and Johannes (Reyneke) did really well.”
At the back, the lanky and uber-talented Jordan de Sousa did sterling work in the Province goal, with his centre backs doing an excellent job of making the opposition shoot from distance.
Summing up his team’s showing, Sibiya concluded: “Province loves quick release passes, which we did, and I am proud of the guys balancing that with maturity and managing possession when we had the extra man on attack.
‘It’s all about balance. When sides are expecting us to do one thing, we show them that we are able to do something else.”
The boys from the Western Cape will face Central Gauteng A for the title after the crew from Johannesburg swamped KwaZulu-Natal B 25-8 in the second semi-final.
There’s no secret about what to expect from Central Gauteng A. They’re going to play an aggressive press defence, and then they’re going to try to launch swift counterattacks when they force turnovers. The opposition know what is coming, but stopping a very physical, fast, fit and skilful Gauteng side has proved beyond any opponent thus far.
They hit from all angles, and on Tuesday evening they wrenched control of their semi-final from KwaZulu-Natal B in the first chukka and never let up.
It’s a credit to KZN B that they managed to score eight goals because they quickly found themselves trailing 0-6. Of course, Central Gauteng netted 19 times while the KwaZulu-Natalians scored their eight.
Nicholas Pearce tormented KZN B, scoring seven times, while four players – Greg Pryce, Caleb van Loggerenberg, Leonardo Perreira and Connor Flinn – scored three times each.
It happens, at times, that seemingly inferior teams make finals, but there can be no question that the two best sides will do battle for the title of South African champions in the Grey High pool at 13:25 on Wednesday.
KwaZulu-Natal are, at least, assured of third and fourth places, and KZN B, who won a cracking match 11-10 over Nelson Mandela Bay in the morning to earn a spot in the final four, will return home as the best of the B teams.
In the day’s first match, Central Gauteng B outplayed Eastern Gauteng 17-4, with Ross Stuart and Jack Wilkins scoring five goals each.
Results
Eastern Gauteng 4-17 Central Gauteng B
Eastern Gauteng – Jonathan Viljoen (2), Robert Carr (1), Cole Taylor (1)
Central Gauteng B – Ross Stuart (5), Jack Wilkins (5) Mark Hudson (3), Marco Turanjanin (2), Brogan McEwan (1)
KwaZulu-Natal A 11-5 Western Province B
KwaZulu-Natal A – Mitchell Slade (3), Jamie Spence (2), Stef Swart (2), Warwick Field (2), Jonothan Bregman-Frangos (1), Rhys Hall (1)
Western Province B – Sebastiaan White (2), Cosmo Enthoven (2), Bradley Warneke (1)
Nelson Mandela Bay 10-11 KwaZulu-Natal B
Nelson Mandela Bay – Luke Mallett (4), Jon Hobson (1), Tawfiq Akomolafe (1), Salmaan Abrahams (1), Samuel Marston (1), Daniel de Lange, Luke Lightening (1)
KwaZulu-Natal B – Luca di Vincenzo (4), Blake Kruger (3), Tallin Laas (1), Marnu Koekemoer (1), Kyron de Kock (1), Jared Byleveld (1)
Western Province A 9-4 KwaZulu-Natal A
Western Province A – Nicholas Fall (4), Thomas Wiltshire (3), Zack Cicero (1), Maximilian Mossop (1)
KwaZulu-Natal A – Mitchell Slade (2), Matthew Hayes (1), Warwick Field (1)
Central Gauteng A 25-8 KwaZulu-Natal B
Central Gauteng A – Nicholas Pearce (7), Greg Pryce (3), Caleb van Loggerenberg (3), Leonardo Perreira (3), Connor Flinn (3), Marc Smith (2), Tristan Grimett (2), Karabo Mamarengane (1), Samuel Lister (1)
KwaZulu-Natal B – Kyron de Kock (2), Luca di Vincenzo (2), Ethan Lyne (1), Blake Kruger (1), Tallin Laas (1), Troy Rees-Jones (1)
