Author: vndudane

Gauteng’s top hockey-playing schools return to action this week with a tasty lineup of intriguing matches.

The third term brings a different energy, especially from the senior players, who will be aiming to end their school careers on a high note.

For the younger players, it’s an opportunity to take on more prominent roles, with one eye cast towards the future.

On Wednesday, high-flying Jeppe High School for Boys faces off against Helpmekaar Kollege at Wits University.

In another interesting clash, Parktown Boys’ High School goes up against King Edward VII School (KES) in a friendly fixture ahead of a derby clash with Northcliff High School on Saturday.

Jeppe, under the leadership of coach Siya Sityana, remain the dominant force in Gauteng schoolboy hockey. They went into the mid-year break on a high after edging out Pretoria Boys High to maintain their unbeaten run.

Their fixture against Helpmekaar is an opportunity for the Kensington school to find their momentum once more and bolster their outstanding record.

Helpmekaar are no pushovers, however, and Wednesday’s game will be the 100th for the school’s 1st XI for the talented Jaundré Verwey.

Verwey is a key player in the midfield, who plays with a commanding presence. He and his teammates will be pushed hard by Jeppe, but they would love nothing more than to upset the apple cart and take down Jeppe to celebrate Verwey’s 100th cap.

Jeppe will be back in action on the Bowden AstroTurf on Friday when they host Durban High School (DHS). Recent clashes between the teams have been high-tempo and highly intense, with both sides loaded with provincial representatives.

In Pretoria, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) hits the ground running. They’re hosting Maritzburg College in one of the largest derbies – rugby and hockey – in the country on 25 and 26 July, while Pretoria Boys High School will face KES.

There will be some feelings of uncertainty following a pause in their schedule for the national hockey weeks during the holiday, but Affies will feel confident after ending the second term with a morale-boosting 4-1 win over Hoërskool Menlopark.

The 2025 u16 Girls’ SASHOC National Week concluded on Hilton College‘s Mansergh Astro on Sunday, with KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A being crowned the national champion.

KZN Coastal A and Eastern Province (EP) A put together exceptional runs through the group stages, although EP’s run of wins was halted in their last pool stage outing when Southern Gauteng scored a surprise 2-0 victory.

The KZN Coastal girls, though, enjoyed a perfect run. They went a perfect five from five in their group games and then won the semi-final and final to finish with seven wins from seven outings.

They started with a 3-0 win over the KZN Coastal B side before edging out their neighbours, KZN Inland A, 1-0 in their second game.

Coach Yoche Blair’s side maintained their solid form, with a 4-2 win over Boland B before an even more convincing 3-0 defeat of Boland A. They were pushed hard by Northern Gauteng A but came away with a 2-1 win in their last group match.

In the semi-finals, they brushed aside Western Province, winning 3-1. On Sunday, in the title-decider, they produced a convincing 4-2 win over Eastern Province, the defending champions.

Charley-Rose Boyall, the tournament’s top goal scorer, with nine, rose to the occasion, scoring twice to lead her team from the front. Asanele Zuma and Zenokuhle Mbhele also added their names to the scoresheet as the local lasses dominated.

Eastern Province A, who had looked unstoppable for much of the tournament, showed heart and fight in the final. Lucy Holderness and Kiyara Constable both netted, but KZN Coastal enjoyed the edge throughout.

Boland A claimed third place after beating Western Province A in a penalty shootout. Initially, their playoff ended in a 1–1 draw after a tight encounter in which Nicola van der Merwe scored for Boland and Bea van den Berg netted for Western Province.

Daniella Grobbelaar scored the only goal of the game as Northern Gauteng A edged out KZN Inland A 1-0 to take fifth place.

Seventh went to Southern Gauteng A. They shared a goalless draw with Southern Free State A but then triumphed 4-2 in a penalty shootout.

It was tight in the battle for ninth and tenth, which was also decided after a shootout. KZN Coastal B and Boland B drew 1-1, with Isabella Slater scoring for Coastal and Miné King doing the trick for Boland. Coastal, then, took the shootout 4-2.

Eastern Gauteng A picked a good time to score their first win of the tournament, handing Southern Gauteng B a 1-0 loss, thanks to a lone goal from Carmen Venter.

RESULTS

Final: Eastern Province A 2: Lucy Holderness, Kiyara Constable. KZN Coastal A 2: Charley-Rose Boyall (X2), Asanele Zuma, Zenokuhle Mbhele.
3rd and 4th: Boland A 1: Nicola van der Merwe. Western Province A 1: Bea van den Berg.
5th and 6th: KZN Inland A 0: Northern Gauteng A 1: Daniella Grobbelaar.
7th and 8th: Southern Gauteng A 0 (4): Southern Free State A 0 (2).
9th and 10th: KZN Coastal B 1 (4): Isabella Slater. Boland B 1 (2): Miné King.
11th and 12th: Southern Gauteng B 0: Eastern Gauteng A 1: Carmen Venter.

Eastern Province (EP) A bounced back from a shock loss to Southern Gauteng A on Friday to win their semi-final at the SASHOC National Week, on Hilton College‘s Mansergh Astro, on Saturday.

With a place in the final on the line, EP was on their game from the first whistle and kept Boland in check throughout.

Goals from standouts Lucy Holderness, who has six for the tournament, and Iminathi Rungqu, who has five, sealed a 2-0 victory and Eastern Province’s place in the title game.

They’ll face a KZN Coastal A team, which has won every game they’ve played, in the final. After their clean run through their group, Coastal followed up with a 3-1 win over Western Province A in their semi-final.

Charley-Rose Boyall continued her fantastic tournament form with a brace, which leaves her on top of the goal scoring chart alongside Southern Free State‘s Marichelle Crous, with seven. Teagan Williamson also netted for the local side, while Jamie Gall replied for Province.

Third in 2024, KZN Coastal meets the defending champion, Eastern Province, on Sunday for the title at 10:20 on the Mansergh Astro.

Boland A and Western Province A will meet in the third-place playoff. Both ended the pool stage in second place in their pools and clashes between the neighbours are usually very keenly contested.

KZN Inland A and Northern Gauteng A will battle it out for fifth place.

In the cross-pool playoffs, Inland shocked Southern Gauteng A, who were confident after an upset of Eastern Province, scoring a memorable 2–1 win, thanks to goals from Taslyn van Wyk and Owami Mthethwa.

Northern Gauteng A edged out Southern Free State A 2–1, with Aphelele Mbatsha and Lenique Vogel scoring for the winners, and Marichelle Crous replying for the Free Staters. Vogel’s goal was her fifth of the event.

The losses for Southern Gauteng A and Southern Free State A leaves them to meet for seventh place.

In other matches, Boland B edged out Eastern Gauteng A 2–1, while KZN Coastal B outlasted Southern Gauteng B, winning a tense penalty shootout 3-2 after their match had ended 1–1 in regulation time. 

RESULTS

Eastern Gauteng A 1: Willanie Du Preez. Boland B 2: Leilah-Thul Fall.

Southern Gauteng B 1 (2): Caitlyn McLean. KZN Coastal B 1 (3): Isabella Slater.

Western Province A 1: Jamie Gall. KZN Coastal A 3: Charley-Rose Boyall (x2), Teagan Williamson.

Southern Free State A 1: Marichelle Crous. Northern Gauteng A 2: Aphelele Mbatsha, Lenique Vogel.

Eastern Province A 2: Lucy Holderness, Iminathi Rungqu. Boland A 0.

Southern Gauteng A 1: Erica Broskie. KZN Inland A 2: Taslyn Van Wyk, Owami Mthethwa.

Southern Gauteng A pulled off a shock on Thursday at the u16 SASHOC National Week when they handed Eastern Province A their first defeat of the competition in the last round of pool matches.

Southerns’ win injected new energy into the battle for second place in Pool A, which would secure a semi-final place alongside EP, who were already assured of their semi spot.

The defending champions, who had cruised unbeaten through their first four matches, went down 1-2 to Southerns on Hilton College’s Mansergh Astro.

Giovanna Abrahams and Lucy Wells found the back of the net for Gauteng, with Kiyara Constable responding for Eastern Province.

Despite the loss, Eastern Province still finished first in Pool A. Their reward is a showdown with Boland A for a place in the final.

Meanwhile, Heather Kane slotted the only goal of the match in Western Province A‘s tight 1-0 win over Southern Gauteng B.

That proved to be just enough for the Capetonians. They claimed second place by a single goal on goal difference over Southern Gauteng A – who had been held to a 1-1 draw by Southern Gauteng B earlier in the tournament – after posting three wins, a draw, and a loss to Eastern Province.

Southern Free State A closed out their pool stage assignments with a dominant 8–1 victory over struggling Eastern Gauteng A.

Marichelle Crous stole the spotlight, scoring four times, while Carmen van Wyk added a hat-trick, with Mpho Seloane completing the Free Staters’ big win. Renette Strydom replied for Eastern Gauteng.

Thanks to her big four-goal day, Crous now tops the goal scoring charts, with six, one ahead of Charley-Rose Boyall, of KZN Coastal A, and Lucy Holderness, of Eastern Province.

In Pool B, the contest between Boland A and KZN Inland A ended in a 1–1 draw. Lakeisha Dudley struck for Boland, while Taslyn van Wyk equalised for Inland, who, after a slow start, have grown in confidence the further the tournament has progressed.

KZN Coastal A maintained their impressive form and their perfect record with a 2–1 victory over Northern Gauteng A.

Keamogelo Baakaleng and Charley-Rose Boyall scored to secure the win, while Lenique Vogel netted Northern Gauteng’s only goal.

The clash between KZN Coastal B and Boland B ended in a 1–1 draw, with Becca Short striking for Coastal and Miné King replying for the Bolanders in an evenly balanced encounter.

The first of the semi-finals, between KZN Coastal A and Western Province A takes place on the Mansergh Astro at 10:50 on Saturday, with the second semi, between Eastern Province and Boland, starting at 13:40 at the same venue.

RESULTS

POOL A

Eastern Province A 1: Kiyara Constable. Southern Gauteng A 2: Giovanna Abrahams, Lucy Wells.
Western Province A 1: Heather Kane. Southern Gauteng B 0.
Southern Free State A 8: Marichelle Crous (X4), Carmen Van Wyk (X3), Mpho Seloane. Eastern Gauteng A 1: Renette Strydom.

POOL B

Boland A 1: Lakeisha Dudley. KZN Inland A 1: Taslyn van Wyk.
KZN Coastal B 1: Becca Short. Boland B 1: Miné King
KZN Coastal A 2: Keamogelo Baakaleng, Charley-Rose Boyall. Northern Gauteng A 1: Lenique Vogel.
KZN Inland A 3: Beayu Chiang, Rebbeca Hellberg, Taslyn Van Wyk. KZN Coastal B 1: KEmily Hughes.

Eastern Province (EP), the defending champions, continued on their merry, winning way on Thursday, day three of the u16 Girls’ SASHOC National Tournament, at St Anne’s DSG, in KwaZulu-Natal.

The picked up a further three points and enhanced their flawless run with a 2-0 win over a determined Western Province A side

Iminathi Rungqu and Lucy Holderness, who have both consistent and influential for EP since the tournament started, sealed a crucial victory for coach Ignatius Malgraff‘s side.

That win leaves EP with a comfortable five-point lead at the top of the Pool A standings, and a positive goal difference of 15 goals from only four matches. They have already secured a place in the semi-finals.

Western Province A, after their setback against Eastern Province A, returned guns blazing in their second match of the day and took out their frustrations on Eastern Gauteng, powering their way to a one-sided 6-0 victory.

That win lifted Province’s record to two wins, a draw, and the loss to EP from their four games – good enough for second place in Pool A, with a match against Southern Gauteng B awaiting them in their last group stage assignment.

Western Province A is on seven points, as is Southern Gauteng A, who also made a strong statement with a 4-1 win over Eastern Gauteng A earlier in the day.

Province, though, has a better goal difference by a single goal. Southerns, in their final pool clash, face a tough challenge, however, taking on the high-flying Eastern Province.

Southern Free State A romped to their first win in style, outplaying Southern Gauteng B 4–0, thanks to goals from Logan Williams, Tshiamo Sizane, Illana De Gouveia, and Zene Beukes.

In Pool B, in a showdown of unbeaten teams, KZN Coastal A outplayed Boland A, scoring a commanding 3-0 win.

Charley-Rose Boyall was instrumental in the victory, scoring twice, with Asanele Zuma continuing her strong goal scoring form by adding another goal to take her tally to three.

EP’s Lucy Holderness leads the way on the goal scoring chart with five goals, while Boyall, Alanda Rademeyer (Boland A), and Iminathi Rungqu have all netted four times.

Northern Gauteng A, with goals from Rearabetsoe Masepe and Lenique Vogel, scored a tight 2-1 win over KZN Coastal B, for whom Bella Roberts scored. With her goal, Vogel joined Zuma on three for the tournament thus far.

That result leaves Northerns two points behind Boland A ahead of the last round of group stage matches. Boland A takes on KZN Inland A in their last pool game, while Northerns tackles the table-topping KZN Coastal A, who are all but certain of finishing in first place in Pool B.

KZN Inland A were held to a goalless draw by Boland B on Thursday, which ended their chances of making the semi-finals. They play twice on Friday, which means they could bag six points, but they trail second placed Boland A by seven.

DAY 3| RESULTS

POOL A
Southern Gauteng A 4: Zuri Jimerson, Emily Quinton, Teegan Aronson, Erica Broskie. Eastern Gauteng A 1: Natalia Jardim.
Eastern Province A 2: Iminathi Rungqu, Lucy Holderness. Western Province A 0.
Eastern Gauteng A: 0. Western Province A: 6 Bea Van den Berg, Jamie Gall, Aisha Hendricks, Heather Kane, Sophia Luger, Sally Gitlin.
Southern Gauteng B 0. Southern Free State A 4: Logan Williams, Tshiamo Sizane, Illana De Gouveia, Zene Beukes.

POOL B
Northern Gauteng A 2: Rearabetsoe Masepe, Lenique Vogel. KZN Coastal B 1: Bella Roberts.
Boland A 0. KZN Coastal A 3: Charley-Rose Boyall (X2), Asanele Zuma.
KZN Inland A 0. Boland B 0.

The second day of the u16 Girls’ SASHOC National Week saw Eastern Province A (EP) continue to build on their strong opening day showing.

After posting two wins Tuesday, while scoring 10 goals and conceding only one, Eastern Province A further extended their dominance in Pool A with a commanding 5–1 win over Southern Free State A.

EP’s attack flowed with almost effortless ease, resulting in goals from Jade Grobler, Chanelle Venter, Iminathi Rungqu, and a superb double from Lucy Holderness.

Their forward play was swift and clinical, and it overwhelmed the Free State defence. Despite a well-taken consolation goal from Marichelle Crous, the Free Staters simply had no answer for the defending champion’s pressure and accurate finishing.

Western Province A, after a draw with Southern Free State in their opener, bagged a 2-1 win over Southern Gauteng A in a tightly contested match.

In another Pool A match, Southern Gauteng B, after a 1-1 draw with Southern Gauteng A and a 1-5 hammering from Eastern Province on Tuesday, bounced back from that big loss to claim a narrow 1-0 win over Eastern Gauteng, with Caitlyn McLean scoring the match-winner.

In Pool B, Boland A continued their push for a semi-final place by picking up two wins. In their first outing, they overcame KZN Coastal B 2–0 and followed up with a 3-1 victory over Northern Gauteng A

Alanda Rademeyer was the star of their win over Northerns, netting twice, while Frankie Henn added a third. Daniella Grobbelaar replied for Northerns.

KZN Coastal A was also impressive. In a KZN derby, they edged past KZN Inland A, with a goal from Asanele Zuma securing Coastal a hard-fought 1-0 win.

Zuma was also on the scoresheet in the afternoon in Coastal’s 4-2 victory over Boland B. Charley-Rose Boyall, Buntu Msweli, and Chelsey Wolf also struck for the KZN team, while Maria Hamman and Zahra Twigg scored for Boland B.

Northern Gauteng A, beaten by Boland A in the afternoon, went one for two on the day, edging out Boland B 1-0 in their other outing.

Eastern Province A is setting the pace in Pool A, with a maximum haul of points, and their high-scoring attack, which has generated more goals than any other team in the tournament.

While EP leads the way in Pool A, in Pool B, KZN Coastal A and Boland A occupy the top two spots, with Northerns not far behind. It looks like a three-horse race for two semi-final places.

DAY 2 RESULTS

POOL A

Western Province A 2: Sally Gitlin, Heather Kane. Southern Gauteng A 1: Teegan Aronson.

Southern Free State A 1: Marichelle Crous. Eastern Province A 5: Jade Grobler, Lucy Holderness (2), Chanelle Venter, Iminathi Rungqu.

Southern Gauteng B 1: Caitlyn Mclean. Eastern Gauteng A 0.

POOL B

Northern Gauteng A 1: Lenique Vogel. Boland B 0.

Boland A 2: Alanda Rademeyer, Zoe Jacobs. KZN Coastal B 0.

KZN Coastal A 1: Asanele Zuma. KZN Inland A 0.

Boland B 2: Maria Hamman, Zahra Twigg. KZN Coastal A 4: Charley-Rose Boyall, Buntu Msweli, Chelsey Wolf, Asanele Zuma.

Boland A 3: Alanda Rademeyer (2), Frankie Henn. Northern Gauteng A 1: Daniella Grobbelaar.

The u16 Girls’ SASHOC National Week got off to a chilly start on Tuesday at St Anne’s DSG, in Hilton.

The event brings together top young talent from across the country and runs through to Sunday, 13 July, when the national provincial champion will be crowned.

Eastern Province wasted no time making their presence felt. Up against Eastern Gauteng in their opener, they delivered a commanding performance.

They dominated possession and relentlessly created attacking opportunities. Their efforts were rewarded with a stunning 5–0 victory, which was one of the biggest winning margins of the day.

Eastern Province also played a second fixture on Tuesday. Facing Southern Gauteng B, they maintained their attacking rhythm and defensive discipline to secure another emphatic win, this time by a 5-1 margin.

One of the most tightly contested matches of the day came in the Boland derby between Boland A and Boland B. Contests between familiar opponents can be tricky, but Boland A mustered a 3–1 victory.

Frankie Henn opened the scoring for Boland A 16 minutes into the game. Shortly after that, Nicola van der Merwe doubled the lead with a well-taken field goal.

Boland B, though, fought back with determination and their persistence was rewarded when Willanie du Preez pulled one back.

Despite late pressure from the B team, Alanda Rademeyer ensured the Boland A side would win, scoring their third goal.

In another A vs B match, the Southern Gauteng teams met. This time, the spoils were shared with the B team, perhaps, damaging their A side’s title challenge by holding them to a 1-1 draw. The match highlighted the depth of talent in the Southern Gauteng setup.

There were two more draws on the opening day, with Southern Free State and Western Province finishing 2–2 after an end-to-end clash, while KZN Inland and Northern Gauteng also shared the spoils after a 2-2 game.

Southern Gauteng A bagged a win later in the day, beating Southern Free State 2-0, while Northerns ended the day on top of the Pool B table after a narrow 1-0 win over Boland B in their second outing.

KZN Coastal A showed how to do it in a meeting of A and B teams, beating KZN Coastal B 3-0, with their ball control, quick transitions, and cohesion on the field earning them one of the cleanest wins of the day.

RESULTS

Pool A

Eastern Gauteng 0–5 Eastern Province
Southern Gauteng A 1–1 Southern Gauteng B
Southern Free State 2–2 Western Province
Southern Gauteng A 2–0 Southern Free State

Pool B

KZN Inland 2–2 Northern Gauteng
Boland B 1–3 Boland A
KZN Coastal B 0–3 KZN Coastal A
Eastern Province A 5–1 Southern Gauteng B

Mpumalanga‘s u18 boys’ team secured promoted to the A-Section of the SASHOC National Week after a dominant run in the 2025 B-Section competition, which brought them six wins from seven matches.

Coach Brightly Mashaba‘s charges excelled at both ends of the park, scoring an impressive 28 goals while conceding only six.

They wrapped up their impressive campaign with a commanding 4-0 win over Eastern Gauteng in the B-Section final, in Pietermaritzburg, on Saturday.

Their sole loss came in a tight group stage clash, which Northern Free State edged 1-0, but they bounced back in style and won five games on the trot to claim the title.

After his team had won the final and secured promotion with that win, Mashaba shared: “I feel a lot of emotions. It’s a long process and a lot of structures that one has had to get right, and one has had to put in place to allow this, because, obviously, you don’t want to go up and come back down.

“So, the idea is that we are able to sustain this. It is not a one-hit-wonder type of situation,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“I think every province has challenges, but our challenges are very unique because the distance from one point of the province to another can reach up to 480 km. But we have put things in place to allow us to keep that growth, to keep that development going.

“I’m hoping that we can take this for our province, and it ignites something for us. That, ultimately, is the goal.”

Mashaba said preparing for the SASHOC National Week had been challenging, with players juggling school and exam commitments.

“I think this year, we understood what needed to happen, and a lot of sacrifices needed to take place,” he explained. “There was a situation where we were like: it’s either you’re going to buy into the programme, or you’re not going. We had to take that route, and we did well.”

The challenges that lie ahead in the A-Section in 2026 will be a lot tougher, but Mashaba already has a clear sense of what it will take to remain for Mpumalanga to be competitive.

“As a province, we’ve got to understand that there’s a process. We’ve got to understand that from the age of u14, we’ve got to produce guys. We’ve got to work hard in developing those guys. The u16s have got to pull through because, ultimately, that’s our product.

“So, a lot of vision and dedication has to go to u14, u15, and u16, ultimately with the hope of u18 being a top product.”

Mashaba said Mpumalanga’s B-Section-winning squad was built from schools ranging across the province. “We’ve got three regions in Mpumalanga: Gert Sibande, Ehlanzeni, and Nkangala,” he explained. “We’ve got six [schools] from Nkangala region, two from Gert Sibande, and four from the Ehlanzeni region.

“We’ve tried to get many schools involved, because the better the league is, the better we become. That is our appeal from the top to the schools: get better, invest more, and we will become better.”

Mashaba said one of the benefits of earning promotion to the A-Section will be the improved ability of Mpumalanga to retain the top talent the province has worked so hard to develop.

“We’ve been working on this – I, personally, and our management group – for probably about 12 years. That’s how long this has been.

“There has been a lot of money spent, and a lot of people who have come through the process. So, what this does for an u14 Mpumalanga player, an u13 Mpumalanga player, is [make them understand]: “Now I can stay in the province because now there is a future. There’s an A Section’.

“That has always been our problem. We lose a lot of players. We develop them and then they go away, which is not a bad thing because it shows we are doing something good. But now, it allows us to retain the talent, to develop it even more, the Mpumalanga way, with that Mpumalanga DNA.”

Mpumalanga SASHOC National Week B-Section Results

Pool Y

Mpumalanga 7-1 Limpopo
Mpumalanga 0-1 Northern Free State
Mpumalanga 4-2 Northern Gauteng B
Mpumalanga 5-0 Northern Cape
Mpumalanga 7-2 Southern Free State B

Semi-finals

Mpumalanga 1-0 Border A

Final

Mpumalanga 4-0 Eastern Gauteng

South Africa’s top young girls’ hockey talent heated up the Gauteng winter at the 2025 u13 SASHOC National Week, which concluded at King Edward VII School, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

Western Province, the dominant hockey power in South Africa in recent years, reaffirmed their status by winning both the boys’ and girls’ titles.

The Western Province girls were in a class of their own, delivering a flawless campaign from the first whistle to the last whistle that signalled the end of the final.

Their dominance was on full display in the title decider, with Province claiming a commanding 3-0 win over KZN Coastal to take the honours.

Their journey began with a double-header on day one at Parktown Boys’ High, but Province navigated that challenge smoothly, posting back-to-back wins to lay a sound foundation for their title bid.

They kicked things off with a composed 2-0 victory over Eastern Gauteng and followed that up with a stunning 7-0 rout of Northern Cape, which sent out an early warning to their rivals.

On the second day, they continued their high-scoring form by putting four past Eastern Province, whom they beat 4-1. Leah McGregor and Olivia Garces then combined to deal with Border, which put the Western Cape side through to a semi-final showdown with the tournament hosts, Southern Gauteng.

It proved to be a nail-biter between the provincial powerhouses. In a tightly contested battle, Gemma Fillies broke the deadlock with a decisive field goal to send Western Province into the final following a 1-0 win.

Southerns went on to finish third after a tight 2-1 victory over Southern Free State in a thrilling encounter.

It was an impressive turnaround from coach Craig Pinetown’s side, whose campaign had spluttered in the early going. They won only one of their three group matches, beating Limpopo 3-1. In their other group games, they drew 1-1 with Mpumalanga and were beaten 1-0 by KZN Inland.

They rose to the occasion in their quarterfinal clash with their neighbours, Northern Gauteng, however, and picked up a 2-0 win.

Border placed fifth in another meeting of rivals and neighbours. In a hard-fought contest, they finished regulation time knotted at 1-1 with Eastern Province but then prevailed 4-3 in a tense penalty shootout.

With both their girls and boys lifting the u13 provincial trophies, Western Province left no doubt, it remains the benchmark in South African school hockey.

FINAL STANDINGS

Western Province
KZN Coastal
Southern Gauteng
Southern Free State
Border
Eastern Province
Northern Blues
KZN Inland
Eastern Gauteng
Boland
Eden
Limpopo
North West
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape

Anathi Fukweni fired the Western Province boys’ team to a vital victory, scoring the only goal of the final, to see his side to the u13 SASHOC National Week title, at King Edward VII School, in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

In a tense, close contest, Province edged out Eastern Province 1-0 to complete an unbeaten campaign.

From their opening fixture, it was clear that Western Province was a serious title contender.

They began their title challenge with a hard-fought 1-0 win over KZN Inland, with Joseph Zach opening their tournament account. Later that day, they flexed their attacking muscle in a 5-1 thrashing of Limpopo, which set the tone for what was to come.

On day two, Province continued their excellent form with two very different but equally impressive wins.

They cruised past Northern Gauteng 4-0, showing composure in possession and ruthlessness in the final third.

Later, they were pushed to the limit by a determined Border side, who took an early lead via Mofenyi Ngcobo’s penalty corner. However, Province responded with a championship mentality, levelling only two minutes later through a brilliant field goal from Cayden Roman before Siya van Wyk struck the winner to make it 2-1.

They were at their best in their semifinal encounter against KZN Coastal, delivering a commanding display. Western Province was structurally and defensively sound, and they punished the KZN boys on the counter, running out comfortable 4-0 winners to book their place in the final.

In a tense and tactical title-decider, chances were few and far between. But it was Fukweni’s decisive moment in front of the goal that separated Western Province and Eastern Province and kept Western Province’s clean record intact.

The runner-up, Eastern Province, battled bravely in the final and showcased consistency throughout the tournament. Damain Scott’s side lost only in the title game, and they sneaked a narrow 3-2 win over the hosts, Southern Gauteng, in a shootout in the semi-finals.

Third went to KZN Coastal, who sparkled on their way to the final four. After their loss to Western Province, they bounced back impressively to defeat Southern Gauteng 1-0 to win the bronze medal.

Southerns produced some outstanding performances during an unbeaten run in the group stages. They outplayed Mpumalanga 5-2 in their opener, followed by a convincing 4-0 victory over North West. In their final group match, they downed Boland 1-0.

Then, in the quarterfinals, they handed their neighbours, Eastern Gauteng, a 3-0 defeat. Eastern Province side put a stop to their flawless run in the semifinals, winning in a shootout after regulation time had finished level at 1-1.

Boland completed the top five after beating the Northern Blues 3-0, thanks to goals from Dax Henn, Kwand’okuhle Moletsane and Jay-Ronn Isaacs.

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Western Province
2. Eastern Province
3. KZN Coastal
4. Southern Gauteng
5. Boland
6. Northern Blues
7. Eastern Gauteng
8. Border
9. Mpumalanga
10. KZN Inland
11. Eden
12. Limpopo
13. Southern Free State
14. North West
15. Northern Cape
16. Northern Free State