Wynberg claims revenge against Bishops, SACS hammers ‘Bosch
“It’s up there as one of our best matches this season,” said Wynberg Boys’ High head coach, Ben Wiley, after his side defused and outplayed Bishops Diocesan College to claim a convincing 3-1 win on the Astro of Dreams on Friday night in Cape Town.
The hosts opened the scoring early, with only a minute played in the first quarter, through a Liam Kleintjies strike, before the skipper, Jordan Paulsen, scored twice in the second half to seal the win.
Heading into the biggest clash of the weekend in the Cape, coach Wiley’s side was brimming with confidence after defeating Paarl Gimnasium late last month.
Last week, their match against Fairmont High was postponed, but that gave them enough time to sharpen their swords, regroup, and prepare for what arguably could’ve been described as a season-defining fixture for the Supera Moras boys.
In their previous meeting earlier in the season, Wynberg suffered a hefty 0-3 defeat at the hands of Bishops on the Woodlands AstroTurf.
In that clash, Bishops were on song, threatening every time they entered the circle, at a time when they were unbeaten in the province. However, a lot has changed since then.
Firstly, Bishops has tasted defeat, losing 0-2 against Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch last month. Their head coach, Ryan Julius, who was present when they played Wynberg for the first time, is currently representing South Africa at the Olympic Games. More importantly, Wynberg has finally found its groove and they demonstrated that in the Friday night encounter.
The hosts were full of energy from the get-go, playing with enthusiasm, putting their bodies on the line, and drawing inspiration from every roar of their supporters.
After Kleintjies opened the scoring from a penalty corner, they were forced onto defence for a while, as Bishops responded well to the setback, with Joshua Mettler coordinating his side’s fightback.
However, the hosts were, for the most part, solid at the back. Then, when Paulsen made it 2-0 from a penalty stroke, which was awarded after goalkeeper Mu’aath Ganief’s save of a penalty corner struck one of his defenders on the goalline and went out, those in navy and white started believing.
The visitors had an opportunity to pull one back before the final chukka when they were awarded a penalty stroke after a Wynberg player had deliberately broken play down when an overhead pass was made to a Bishops’ player.
Up stepped their reliable skipper, Rob Veldtman, but he did something uncharacteristic and blasted his shot into an upright.
Bishops finally broke through in the fourth chukka, scoring through James Grieve, but soon after Paulsen struck again with a superb solo effort to inspire his side to victory.
“It was an exceptional performance,” Wiley told SuperSport Schools Plus after the match on the Astro of Dreams.
“They put us under pressure in the first chukka, and we had to dig deep to keep the clean sheet.
“Our structure kicked in nicely at the back. We held them up and when we got our opportunities we took them well. As soon as the first goal went in, momentum carried us through, and the boys kept believing in themselves.”
The win continued Wynberg’s impressive run during the second half of the season.
After closing term two with a narrow 0-1 defeat against SACS, they’ve come back firing, and in their first match of the third term they defeated the UK’s Repton A 3-0, before beating Paarl Gim 4-2.
Wiley said he’s pleased with how rejuvenated his side is, and with how his provincial players have transitioned the winning energy from the SASHOC National Week into the Wynberg team.
“We put a lot of emphasis on the start of the third term because last year we had a drop during this time,” he said.
“Guys came back from the IPTs and our performances dropped, and we couldn’t figure out why.
“This year, we made sure that the ones that didn’t go to IPTs were keeping fit and were ready mentally.
“We told the guys that went to the IPTs to focus there, and as soon as it ended it was about how they could transition what they learned to the team. I think they’ve done it so well, and I’m so proud of them.”
Wynberg will next turn their attention to a struggling Rondebosch Boys’ High side, whom they face next weekend.
Wiley said they’re not taking any encounter lightly and will prepare as best as they can for the clash.
“The amazing thing about the Cape Town schools and the derbies is that form means very little, and teams turn out for derby games.
“We’ll never think a derby match will be easy. We’ll never take it for granted, and we will have to put our training hats back on for the coming week before ‘Bosch because all these games will be hectic for us,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, in Newlands, South African College High School (SACS) continued their impressive season by trashing Rondebosch Boys’ High 8-2 at the Brewery.
In the teams’ previous meeting, SACS won 3-0. This time around, they turned it up a notch in front of a buzzing home crowd.
Coach Sam Holmes’ side were the undeniable favourites heading into the game. In their previous two matches, they scored a whopping 19 goals, beating Paarl Boys’ High 7-1, and Reddam House Constantia 12-1.
Litha Kraai, who has hit peak goal scoring form of late after an average performance against Paul Roos last month, scored four times in the clash.
He was joined on the score sheet by his SA Schools’ teammate, Reece Theunis who scored a hattrick of goals, while Cole Allam also struck for SACS.
For Bosch, it was a night of dismay. After recording a 7-0 win over DF Malan, they couldn’t replicate that momentum.
The visitors, in all age groups, managed less than 10 shots on target, signalling a strong need to return to the drawing board ahead of a tough Wynberg clash next weekend.
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