Author: vndudane

With the hockey season nearing its conclusion, King Edward VII School (KES) scored a significant win when they beat Jeppe High School for Boys last weekend.

A come-from-behind 3-2 victory for KES was their first over Jeppe in 13 years.

However, it looked as if it would be business as usual when Jeppe struck from a penalty corner to take the lead. KES, though, responded with a field goal from Tiago Diaz.

Coach Siya Sityana‘s Jeppe side snatched the lead once more, with a brilliant counterattack breaking the tie. Their celebrations were short-lived, however, with the Red Sticks’ captain Fynn Campbell equalising for the hosts.

Then, with only three minutes left on the clock, Ben Simon fired a drag flick into the back of the Jeppe goalbox to secure a morale-boosting over the Aitken Cup champions.

“Jeppe has been the benchmark for boys’ field hockey in Johannesburg for several years and the boys from both schools love the match-up. It’s an opportunity to measure themselves against the best Johannesburg has to offer,” said KES coach Shamin Naidoo.

“I have my performance measures as a coach. It’s a bit early to worry too much about results at this stage in our programme, but winning a Saturday schoolboy derby always brings a special feeling, no matter who you play.”

Naidoo said a tough 2-3 loss to Jeppe in the first meeting between the teams earlier in the season delivered important lessons, which helped them to victory the second time around.

“We did pick up a few tactical opportunities from our fixture at Jeppe earlier in the year. We have also explored a few different shapes of our own and we looked to focus more on our game rather than trying to outwit them this time.

“We wanted to make sure our PC defence was rock solid, and we wanted to win as many PCs as possible to give our flickers a chance.

“The game was superb overall and a top-class advertisement for boys’ school sport. Either team could have won it. We just got the luck of the roll this time,” he said.

KES hosts Maritzburg College this weekend, 27 July, in the last of their annual winter fixtures. College heads into the match having beaten Pretoria Boys High 2-1 in Pretoria last week, which was preceded by a 1-1 draw with Affies in Pietermaritzburg a week earlier.

“The boys are looking forward to another good contest,” Naidoo said.

“We had a good week of training ahead of the College fixture. College has been a top hockey school in SA for the last two decades, so we are looking forward to ending our season against another top boys’ school.

“The win against Jeppe has certainly brought some belief and confidence to the boys. They just need to stay grounded and enjoy their last fixture of the season,” Naidoo told SuperSport Schools Plus.

Parktown Boys’ High School wrapped up their home fixtures for the 2024 season with an impressive victory over Northcliff High on Saturday.

Coach Kyle Reddy‘s side was cheered on by strong support from the stands and they responded with an entertaining and emphatic 6-1 win.

The Heart of the Lion sent a clear message to everyone watching that they were going to end their home fixtures on a positive note after an exciting and rewarding season. They dominated possession and turned that into goals and a convincing victory.

Parktown scored three times in the first half and three times in the second, working hard until the final whistle, to win by a five-goal margin.

Captain Ryan Venter scored a hattrick from penalty corners. “I think I played well. I did what I needed to do. I did my job, and I knew my job,” he said afterwards.

He also lauded his teammates for their smart game execution. “As a team, we executed the game plan well and it was a good game.

“I think the score could have been a lot higher if we took our chances as they came but, other than that, it was a good way to finish off our last home game. It has been special; you need to be here to know how it feels,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.

Parktown’s other goals were scored by Gomotsegang Molefe, Nicholas Townsend and Miles Makudo.

While it was a last home game for Parktown, it was a first appearance for the 1st XI for Hoosen Jabbar, who described it as a dream come true.

“I am happy to get my first game for Parktown and I hope to get even more,” he said. “It’s been a dream since I started school here. I have been waiting for this day and it finally came. I am so proud, and I am happy.

“It was a big game, big atmosphere. I hoped we showed everyone that Parktown Boys’ High never loses.”

In the lead-up to Saturday’s match, Parktown had grabbed a 3-2 win over a good Hoërskool Waterkloof team and had also seen off Krugersdorp High School.

Reddy said he couldn’t be prouder of his side: “The boys went out today and enjoyed themselves. It was a good scoreline and I’m glad everything clicked.

“Coming back from the holidays, we have been struggling in terms of form, pattern, and cohesion, but today all the puzzle pieces were there. The band was out, the support was good, and the boys enjoyed themselves.”

Parktown has two more matches remaining before they close the curtain on an outstanding season.

“From the holiday, we came back to training,” Reddy said. “This is our fourth game since we came back. We still have Garsfontein on Wednesday and Jeppe High School for Boys next week.

“We remain focussed, but, in our last home game, the parents made it very special, and the boys gave us a special performance,” he concluded.

St Stithians and Affies will be defending the u18 and u16 titles respectively when the 2024 edition of the Pullen and Howell Hockey Tournament gets underway on Saturday.

The event was founded in 2006 by two stalwarts of the Southern Gauteng hockey scene, Rob Pullen and Ros Howell, and it brings together schools from Johannesburg and Pretoria, and a number of other towns.

Looking ahead to the competition, Pullen, who is the Director of Sports at Kingsmead College, told SuperSport Schools Plus: “The preparation for all teams is quite different. Some schools have just come back to school a week or two ago, and others have been training right through.

“Schools, like Kingsmead, were in exams, so we didn’t get to train. It’s a bit of a disadvantage, but it’s one of the things we have to live with. But I think what is exciting is it’s a prestigious event, with 73 teams, and it is a big opportunity. We might have to look at [including] a C section next year.

“What is great is that the players who went to the provincial tournaments recently are all back, so it will be a big opportunity for some of the schools to set up and see how well they can participate this week.

“It’s going be exciting and it is probably going to be one eight or nine teams who can win this tournament in both sections.”

The 2023 Pullen champions, St Stithians, will open their challenge against Dr EG Jansen, while the Howell champions Affies, will begin their quest to defend their title against Saints.

Pullen says the supersized tournament presents a wonderful opportunity for the girls to challenge themselves, interact with others, and make friends in the sport.

“For me, it is always an opportunity to give kids another way to play with school friends and to play matches, so I am looking forward to a great week of hockey,” he reckoned.

The games will be streamed live on the SuperSport Schools app and DStv Channel 216.

Pullen said the livestreaming is a great treat for sports lovers. “I think we are lucky with SuperSport Schools. It gives a wider opportunity for people to watch if they cannot be at the venue and to record and watch it all over again.

“I think we are very fortunate from a sporting point of view that every parent can get to watch it, whether it’s live or recorded or streaming, so we are very chuffed with that,” he concluded.

PULLEN TROPHY

u18A Section

Pool A: St Stithians; Northcliff; St Mary’s Waverley; Dr EG Jansen
Pool B: Noordheuwel; Affies; Holy Rosary; Kingsmead
Pool C: Monument; Waterkloof; Beaulieu; St Andrew’s
Pool D: Garsfontein; Roedean; Helpmekaar; Trinity Randpark Ridge

u18 B Section

Pool A: Jeugland; St Peter’s; Rand Park; Trinity House Little Falls; Steyn City
Pool B: Kempton Park Hoërskool; Fourways; Parktown High School for Girls; Krugersdorp; Crawford Sandton
Pool C: Eldoraigne; Hugenote; Linden, Assumption; Alberton
Pool D: St Dominic’s; Redhill; Marais Viljoen; Bryanston; Midstream; Menlopark

HOWELL Trophy

u16 A section

Pool A: Affies; Monument; Kempton Park Hoërskool; St Stithians
Pool B: Garsfontein; Helpmekaar; St Andrews; Hugenote
Pool C: Noordheuwel; Waterkloof; EG Jansen; Kingsmead U16
Pool D: Marais Viljoen; St Mary’s Waverley; Northcliff; Steyn City

u16 B section

Pool A: Alberton; Holy Rosary; Trinity House Little Falls; Menlopark
Pool B: Bryanston; Eldoraigne; Parktown High School for Girls; Jeppe; Midstream
Pool C: Reddam House Bedfordview; Linden; Fourways; Rand Park; Krugersdorp
Pool D: Roedean; St Dominic’s; St Peter’s; Trinity House Randpark Ridge; Jeugland

Despite their 3-0 victory over Northcliff High School on Saturday, Jeppe High School for Boys‘ head coach Siya Sityana walked away dissatisfied, believing that his side could have done better.

Jeppe Boys welcomed Northcliff to the Boden AstroTurf and showed up with a revamped squad full of youngsters. Sityana said it was an opportunity to give those younger players a chance to showcase their abilities and skills.

Their inclusion meant some of the side’s stars, including Boipelo Koloti (Southern Gauteng u18A) and Tumiso Kameel (Southern Gauteng u18B), were among the regulars who did not play.

In a tight clash, Jeppe claimed the win with a double from Ethan Kapanda and a further goal from Juan Martin. They were both members of the Southern Gauteng u18 A side at the SASHOC National Week, where Kapanda was named the Defender of the Tournament and Martin was named in the SA u18A side.

The Kensington boys broke open a deadlock in the second chukka, but their chances of blowing open the contest were undone by a number of unforced errors.

Sityana expressed disappointment with his charges’ lack of finishing. He said: “We played a lot of youngsters, and we missed quite a number of clear chances, and it was frustrating to watch.”

On Wednesday, Jeppe had been held to a goalless draw by Pretoria Boys High in Pretoria, and Sityana, despite the change in personnel, had been hoping for a turnaround. He didn’t mince his words.

“It is disappointing after the goalless draw against Pretoria Boys High School. I was expecting the strikers to score more goals but going onto next week…I believe they will be slightly more confident,” he concluded.

During the SASHOC National Week, hosted in Bloemfontein from 16-21 June, Ryan Venter was one of Southern Gauteng‘s standout players.

While Southerns didn’t enjoy as good a run at the tournament as they would have hoped for, the Parktown Boys’ High School 1^st team captain and his team-mates were typically competitive as the Johannesburg-based team always is.

In the end, they finished fourth, going down 0-1 to KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A in their final playoff game. In total, Southerns played seven games, won two, drew two and lost three, with two of those being in the battle for the top four positions.

In their opener, against Eastern Province, a tight contest ended in a 2-2 draw. Second time out, they edged out the hosts, Southern Free State, 2-1.

They claim a hard-fought victory in their third match, edging out Northern Gauteng 4-3 at Grey College.

Then, in one of the games of the tournament, they fought back from a 2-4 deficit at half-time to rescue a 4-4 draw with KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A.

Southerns suffered a significant setback in their next outing, however. They led KwaZulu-Natal Inland 2-1 but were then brushed aside as the KZN boys produced a stunning fightback to capture a 5 -2 victory.

Still, Southerns made it through to the semi-finals, but Boland had their number, recording a comfortable 4-1 victory.

For Venter, being part of a side that made it through to the final four was a big step up. In 2023, he was part of the Wits team that won promotion to the A section.

Venter also shone for Parktown this season in the Aitken Cup, helping the school reach the final for the first since 2010 after a 5-3 defeat of St John’s College in the semi-finals.

It runs in the family!

Now 18, he started hockey playing hockey when he was in grade 5, in 2017. Since then, he has made his mark in local schools’ competitions and on the national stage.

In 2022 and 2023, he represented the Southern Gauteng B team at the Inter-provincial Tournament, which is now known as the SASHOC National Week.

Venter comes from a hockey-playing family, he explained: “My mother was a provincial hockey player for Free State, when she was in high school, and my father was an ice hockey player, when he was in school. Hockey has been in my family for a long time, and I wanted to be just like my role models, my parents.”

If he’s not busy with hockey, then you’ll find the 18-year-old playing and following football, his other love.  He told SuperSport Schools Plus that he has played the sport for as long as he can remember.

“I’ve played soccer my whole life,” he said. “My favourite player is Lionel Messi.”

The highlights

This season, Venter achieved a big milestone when he received his 100th 1st team cap for Parktown, alongside one of his best mates, Nicholas Townsend. Two other achievements in 2024, reaching the Aitken Cup final and representing Southern Gauteng A at the SASHOC National Week, also rate highly, in his book.

“Playing in the Aitken final is my number one,” he reckoned. “After years of Parktown not being on that stage, it was my proudest moment, as well as the team and [Parktown coach] Mr Reddy‘s, and playing in the u18 IPT finals with the Southern Gauteng B side last year and winning the game to promote the B side back to A section is definitely something I’ll always remember,” he added.

The Parktown Boys’ High hockey whizz also identified their first contest of the season, against St Alban’s College, as being particularly rewarding. After trailing, they fought back to claim a 3-2 victory.

“It was a very tightly contested game. St Alban’s managed to go 2-1 up. We won a shortie with only a few minutes left of the game and I took the flick and scored to equalise,” he recalled. “Not long after, Zeyad Davids scored an amazing backstick to put us up 3-2 at home. During that game, I feel like I played well. I moved the ball well and I was solid at the back.

“To play in a game like that, with the whole school watching, was something special. My teammates, Mr Reddy, and the school, were a driving force that helped me play a perfect game.”

For the team

Venter credits his coaches for helping him to achieve what he has in hockey. Team-mates, too, have made it a special journey, he added.

“Although we have been through a lot of good and bad times together, there isn’t any other team I’d rather end my Parktown hockey career with. These boys are amazing hockey players and even better human beings,” Venter said.

“I owe all my success to Mr. Kyle Reddy, for putting his trust in me to play in the side from grade 10. He saw something in me that many others did not. I’m forever grateful for what the team, Mr. Reddy and Mr. Le Forestier have done for me.”

The future

While playing for Southern Gauteng A at the SASHOC National Week was a big achievement for Ryan Venter, he has bigger goals on the hockey field.

“My goal is to play for the national side one day and hopefully professionally overseas somewhere,” he shared.

“Making the u18 A provincial side this year was one of the goals I’ve been working towards, and I hope to one day tick off more from my list,” he concluded.

Eastern Province A and Boland A made it through to the finals of the u16 SASHOC National Week on Tuesday at the University of Free State.

Both teams enjoyed a good run in the tournament after winning four of their five games in the Pool stages. They finished the Pools – Province in the first place while Boland fell in number two, both with 13 points. Eastern Province had an advantage of the goal difference.

Today, coach Andrew Beynon’s side edged Western Province 4-1 in the semifinal to book a spot in the final against Boland.

They dominated the clash and put their opponents on the back foot from the first chukka as Lucy Holderness fired up a Penalty Corner and Jana Prinsloo, doubled the score in the second chukka.

Western Province raised to fight in the game in the third chukka and denied their opponents the chance to score, as a result, that quarter was completed without a goal.

However, in the final chukka, the Eastern Cape learners broke the Western side’s defence twice, Holderness registered her second goal and Lisa De Villiers converted the Penalty Corner to make it a 4-0 lead.

In the last two minutes before the final whistle, Zaney Gerber netted the only goal for Louise Conradie’s side to make the score 4-1.

On the other hand, Boland earned their spot in the final after they outplayed KwaZulu-Natal Coastal 2-0. Philippa Viljoen scored both goals as Boland made their way to fight for the 2024 title.

The Boland-EP clash will be a repeat of the day four fixture where both sides met in a thrilling encounter, that bettered the goal advantage of the Province.

The match ended on a 1-1 draw – a point to each side, thanks to Nicola van der Merwe’s Penalty Corner scored in three minutes and Lucy Holderness’s PC in the second Chukka.

Meanwhile, the Pool A leaders, KZN Coastal and Western Province have a date to play for positions 3 and 4 on Wednesday. This was the first defeat of the tournament for the Coastal that turned out to be very costly.

In the Pools they played five games, won four, and drew one, only to be handed their first defeat in the semifinals.  Eastern Province and Boland are still unbeaten.

In other fixtures, KwaZulu-Natal Inland shrugged off Southern Gauteng B 4-1. On the final day of the tournament Inland will play for positions 5 and 6 against Southern Gauteng A, who thumbed Northern Gauteng 3-0.

Southern Free State A wrapped up the day of the semifinals with a whopping 5 – 0 defeat against Border.

The u 16 girls final will be played at 09:55 on Wednesday at University of Free State field 1, while other games will be played at Eunice and Grey College

TUESDAY RESULTS

KZN Inland A 4 – 1 Southern Gauteng B

Northern Gauteng 0 – 3 Southern Gauteng A

Western Province A 1 – 4 Eastern Province A

KZN Coastal B 3 – 0 Boland B

KZN Coastal A 0 – 2 Boland A

Southern Free State A 5 – 0 Border

Eastern Province A cruised into the semi-finals of the u16 SASHOC National Week on Monday afternoon after a comfortable victory over KwaZulu-Natal Inland B in Bloemfontein.

EP impressed in their 5-1 win. It took them just two minutes to get onto the scoresheet, with Anga Madaka netting, and less than 10 minutes later it was 2-0, thanks to a penalty corner goal from James Chree.

Logan Goddard-Ford increased the Eastern Province lead to 3-0 at the break, but Uyanda Magudulela responded in the third chukka for Inland. Another Goddard-Ford goal, plus one more from regular scoring contributor Keegan Le Roux, made it a convincing four-goal win.

With that victory, Eastern Province also eliminated the defending champions Western Province A – who had beaten them 3-0 in their first game – from the semi-finals.

They both finished with 12 points, but EP enjoyed a better goal difference. Their reward will be a final four showdown with KwaZulu-Natal Inland A. Boland A also picked up 12 points, but they finished top of Pool A with the best goal difference of the three semi-final contenders.

KZN Inland A completed their Pool B assignments with a perfect record of five wins from five games.

On Monday, they broke open a 2-2 tie with KZN Coastal A in the third chukka to claim a 3-2 victory after a back-and-forth contest.

Inland’s Siwaphiwe Mthembu got his team off to a flying start with a goal within the first two minutes, but Luc Boyall levelled for Coastal in the second chukka. Before it was up, however, Thandanani Zuma restored Inland’s lead.

It lasted only two minutes. Keegan de Jager was on target from a penalty corner, and it was 2-2.

The winning goal came from Liyemikhaya Sishi shortly after half-time. Despite five goals being scored in 33 minutes, there were no more to come and Inland claimed the KZN honours.

Meanwhile, Southern Gauteng A punished KZN Coastal B, rolling to a 4-0 win, and Luka Meets starred with five goals as Pool A table-toppers Boland made light work of Southern Free State A, crushing them 7-0.

On Tuesday, the Bolanders will do battle with Coastal A in the semifinals at the University of the Free State.

RESULTS

KwaZulu-Natal Inland A 3 – 2 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
Border A 3 – 2 Southern Gauteng B
Southern Gauteng A 4 – 0 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal B
Western Province A 2 – 1 Northern Gauteng A
Boland 7 – 0 Southern Free State A
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal 2 – 0 Boder A
KwaZulu-Natal Inland B 1 – 5 Eastern Province A

On Saturday, day two of the u16 SASHOC National Week, the reigning champions, Western Province A, continued on their winning ways at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools

Coach Louise Conradie’s side was pushed hard but they held off Northern Blues A to claim a 2-1 victory.

Frank Cassidy opened the scoring in the first chukka and Camryn Corner made it 2-0 in the second chukka. However, Northern Blues pulled one back shortly after the break, with Lenique Vogel striking. Province’s defence held sway the rest of the way, but Vogel’s goal was the first time they had conceded in three matches.

With three wins from three outings, Province tops Pool A, but they’re not alone, KZN Coastal A also sports a perfect record of three from three.

On Saturday, the KZN side handed the hosts, Southern Free State A, a 2-0 defeat. It took them until the second half to get onto the scoresheet, but, after Chelsey Woolf slotted from a penalty corner, within a minute they were two goals to the good when Codie Bestbier scored.

Through three games, Coastal has netted nine times without giving up a goal. Western Province has exactly the same goal difference, having scored one more goal.

In a KZN derby, KwaZulu-Natal Inland A handed KwaZulu-Natal Coastal B a 4-1 loss. It was only 1-0 at the break, with Mia Howie‘s penalty corner strike separating the teams.

Then, Kate van Breda bagged a brace in the third chukka to give Inland A some breathing room, and Holly Hofmeyer made it 4-0 before Angela Bingham netted a consolation goal for Coastal B five minutes before the end of the game.

On Sunday, Western Province faces Southern Free State A, whose record is one and one after their loss to KZN Coastal A.

RESULTS

Eastern Province A 2-0 Southern Gauteng B
Boland A 1-3 South Gauteng A
Boland 3–0 Border
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal B 1–4 KwaZulu-Natal Inland A
Northern Blues 1–2 Western Province A
Southern Free State A 0-2 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
Southern Gauteng A 0-1 Eastern Province
Southern Gauteng B 0-3 Boland

KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A produced a strong to performance to defeat a gritty Southern Gauteng B team and lay claim to third place at the u18 SASHOC National Week in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The KZN side shone in Pool B, winning all five of their group-stage games.

They opened their challenge with a 3-1 win over Eastern Province on Sunday.

On Monday, they had a double-header. They made light work of Northern Free State, scorching to an 8-1 victory as Elizabeth Anderson and Ruby Kraus scored two goals each. Then, a 1-0 win over Boland in the afternoon put them in the pound seats.

Further victories over Southern Gauteng B (1-0) and KZN Inland A (2-1) left Coastal the pool winners with a full haul of 15 points.

Relive the action on SuperSport Schools

Coach Jacinta Wedderburn lauded her girls’ performance. “It means so much. You know, we were discussing that at the end of seven games we had only one loss. That’s exceptional.

“The girls have played unbelievable hockey and they have done it together as a group, and that was our objective from day one: If we are going to this, we are going to it together,” she told SuperSport Schools Plus.

KZN Coastal was unbeaten until the semifinals. They played well and controlled much of their final four showdown with Northern Gauteng A, but the contest went to a penalty shootout after the teams deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation time. In the shootout, Northerns came away with a 3-2 victory.

That defeat set up KZN Coastal for a rematch with Southern Gauteng B, this time with third place on the line.

In cold and windy weather in Bloemfontein on Friday morning, they were made to work hard for their win. They made sure of it with a couple of fourth chukka goals.

After a goalless first chukka, Cassandra Forbes nailed a penalty corner nine minutes into the second chukka to give Coastal the lead. Then, in the 39th minute, Emily Macquet doubled their advantage.

The game was made safe when Tara Pakendorf struck in the 51st minute. Then, Ruby Kraus, one of the tournament’s top scorers, put the cherry on the top with a fourth goal, just a minute before the hour-mark.

“It was a fantastic game. The girls came out ready to play. We knew that whoever brought that kind of energy in the first five minutes would control of the game, and that’s exactly what the girls did. They came out hard and firing,” Wedderburn said.

Meanwhile, defeat for Lance Louw‘s brave South Gauteng B side left them in a highly commendable fourth place. They were beaten three times during the course of the event, with two of those coming against KZN Coastal and the other against their senior side, Southern Gauteng A, the champions.

KWAZULU- NATAL COASTAL RESULTS

Pool B

Eastern Province A 1-3 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A 8-1 Northern Free State
Boland A 0 -1 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A 1-0 Southern Gauteng B
KwaZulu-Natal Inland A 1-2 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A

Semi-finals

Northern Gauteng A 1-1 (3-2 SO) KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A

3rd/4th
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A 4-0 Southern Gauteng B

After an impressive run at the u18 SASHOC National Week, the Southern Gauteng B side will fight for bronze on the last day of the event following a 0-2 defeat to Southern Gauteng A in the semi-finals on Thursday in Bloemfontein.

The Southerns’ B side gave their senior counterparts a tough contest but eventually succumbed to defeat, beaten but unbowed.

They took on their semi-final challenge with confidence after pulling off successive victories on Wednesday over Northern Free State and Eastern Province.

Both sides exhibited stubborn defences, with coach Lance Louw‘s B side defending solidly, including when they conceded a couple of penalty corners, and the teams went into halftime goalless.

In the 41st minute, Hannah Quinton broke the deadlock. That goal led to an increase in the intensity of the clash.

It took until the last minute for Southern Gauteng A to secure their victory with a second goal. This time it was Amber Fairon who slotted a field goal.

Although his team went down, Southern Gauteng B coach Louw was, nonetheless, thrilled with the performance of his side throughout the SASHOC National Week.

“It’s always going to be tough playing the A side,” he said, “but we stayed in the game for a long time, with just one lack of concentration, a penalty corner, and we kept out six.

“Kudos to the girls,” he added. “They did well. We didn’t think we would make it this far, but we did.”

Witsies will face another stiff challenge in the battle for bronze when they tackle KZN Coastal A on Friday.

Jacinta Wedderburn‘s charges went unbeaten through their pool fixtures. On Thursday, though, they were eliminated from title contention after they played to a 1-1 draw with Northern Gauteng, before going down 2-3 in a penalty shootout.

The KZN outfit’s challenge began with a 3-1 win over Eastern Province on Sunday. On day two, they overwhelmed Northern Free State 8-1, and they followed that up with a 1-0 win over Boland later that same day.

Southerns’ B proved to be tough opponents, but Coastal claimed a 1-0 win. On Wednesday, they beat their neighbours KwaZulu-Natal Inland 2-1.

The rematch between KZN Coastal and Southern Gauteng B should be a captivating clash. Louw said his team is eager to have another crack at the KZN side.

“We’re playing KZN Coastal again, and it’s going to be a tough game. Obviously, they are very upset about not making it to the final, but our girls are here to make sure that we make their job as hard as possible.

“We had a really good game against them…so tomorrow we are not going to give up.

“We are going to come back even stronger and rectify what we did wrong today and make sure we rectify the mistake that gave them the goal in that game,” he concluded.