Author: cschiwanza

Clifton College’s captain, Zach Williamson, and St Charles College‘s Rowen Rajah sparkled brightly, netting hat-tricks in an eight-goal thriller featuring the two sides at St Charles on Saturday morning.

The sides shared the spoils in an enthralling 4-4 draw in Pietermaritzburg.

Aside from the hattrick heroes, Tristan Smith scored for Clifton and Blake Francis added another for St Charles.

Clifton entered the contest after drawing 2-2 draw away at St David’s Marist Inanda the previous weekend.

For most of the contest, the Durban school had to play catch-up, but Williamson wouldn’t let them lose.

As they did against St David’s, Clifton came from behind to force a draw.

“It took us a while to get into the game but once we did, we moved the ball nicely,” Calvin Price, the Clifton coach, told Supersport Schools Plus.

“We fell behind because we let in some silly goals. Credit to Matt Coombes and his boys. They came out with a game plan, and it worked nicely for them.”

St Charles took advantage of Clifton’s slow start and put the visitors under pressure. Their sustained excursions into the Clifton final third won the hosts a penalty corner early in the first chukka, and Coombes’ charges made no mistake as Rajah converted to give the home team the lead.

Five minutes in the second chukka, Williamson struck for the first time from a penalty corner to level the scores.

Saints quickly responded, with Rajah slotting another penalty corner to edge them 2-1 ahead, just two minutes after Williamson’s equaliser.

Having found their footing, Clifton dialled up the pressure on St Charles and their excursions won them a penalty corner six minutes into the third chukka. As he had done earlier, Williamson unfurled an outstanding drag flick to beat the St Charles goalkeeper and make it 2-2.

Williamson had a hot hand, and his drag flicks had plenty of zip on them. Within two minutes, he had unfurled another classy flick into the Saints’ net from the set piece to complete his hattrick while also giving the visitors the lead for the first time in the contest.

Both teams had their penalty corner routines humming and the score became 3-3 when St Charles struck again with another Rajah penalty corner conversion.

In the final chukka, St Charles appeared to be on the path to victory when they took the lead with a well-worked field goal through the left channel after six minutes, with Francis providing the finish. Clifton, though, had not travelled to St Charles to be handed a defeat.

The visitors retained the ball well when they attacked and pressed well when out of possession. Then, with just four minutes remaining in the contest, David Rea forced a turnover close to the Saints’ 23-metre line. Showing off some excellent close skills, Rea weaved his way past a couple of defenders before laying off to Bryon Ward, who fed Tristan Smith, and he scored levelled.

RESULT

St Charles College 4-4 Clifton College

Hilton College made their trip to Northwood worthwhile, making good use of their chances to come away with a 5-3 victory over their hosts in an enthralling contest on Saturday.

Ethan Maltby, Oyena Zulu, Anthony Crossley, Darryn Bridgeford, and Tadi Hove were on target for the visitors.

The Knights, at home, are tough, but Hilton was up for the challenge. Coach Damian Kimfley‘s charges put out a statement of intent early on, starting brightly and making runs into the Northwood final third. Five minutes in, they won a penalty corner.

Hilton went with a straightforward routine, but they executed it well and Ethan Maltby drilled the ball past Northwood’s defenders and goalkeeper to give the visitors the lead.

They almost doubled it seconds before the end of the quarter with another short corner, but the Northwood defence held.

Midway through the second quarter, though, Hilton struck again. This time, Kimfley’s charges combined for a field goal, with Oyena Zulu finding the back of the net as Hilton established a two-goal cushion, which they took into the halftime break.

Early in the third chukka, Northwood pulled one back, executing a penalty corner of their own. However, that one-goal deficit stood for only a few minutes before the Knights’ defences were again breached.

Hilton made ground down the left channel, with Anthony Crossley exhibiting some good skills after receiving the ball just inside Northwood’s half. He rounded a defender with a deft change of pace and direction, then drove along the baseline before, somehow, finding enough room to slot the ball into the back of the goalbox to make it 3-1.

Darryn Bridgeford added to Northwood’s misery when he fired in Hilton’s fourth with four minutes left in the chukka.

Coach Justin Collins‘s Northwood side is known to come on strong late in their matches, and they found their second wind after going three goals behind. They kept their heads down and stayed focused as they hunted for a goal to reduce the gap. They were rewarded with seconds left in the quarter, putting away a rebound after a sharp shot on goal had been saved.

Trailing 2-4, the Knights threw players into the attack and that brave approach brought them further reward when, with only eight minutes remaining, they scored again to pull within a goal of Hilton after a deflected shot wrong-footed the ‘keeper.

Hilton, however, had the final say and they deflated Northwood’s wheels when Tadi Hove restored their two-goal advantage with another well-worked field goal.

Northwood had an opportunity to cut the deficit by one when they won a short corner in the dying moments of the match, but their effort, from the top of the circle, flashed wide of the goalbox.

Collins’ charges won another penalty corner shortly afterwards. This time they hit the target, but the Knights’ shot was rejected, and Hilton claimed a tightly contested 5-3 win.

RESULTS

Hilton 5-3 Northwood

KwaZulu Natal produced two thrilling Friday Nite Lights clashes, with Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College playing out a closely contested 2-2 draw on the Punchbowl Astro, at Michaelhouse, while, in a local rivalry, a humdinger between Westville Boys’ High and Kearsney College finished 1-1.

With a chill in the air, playing at home on their Old Boys’ Weekend, Westville started gingerly, and Kearsney seized on the opportunity to dictate the tempo in the early going, which brought them a period of dominance.

With strong home support, though, Westville worked themselves into the game and began to look more like the home side.

“I think we had more control than normal, and we looked good and resolute in deep defence,” Cameron Mackay, the Westville coach, told Supersport Schools Plus after the contest.

Kearsney made enterprising runs down their left flank, but they were met by a solid Westville defence. The Griffin, too, found their offensive forays stymied by the visitors’ equally firm defence. Eventually, though, Westville’s attacking efforts bore fruit from a penalty corner.

Captain Seth Simpson has enjoyed an outstanding season, which earned him selection for the KZN Coastal u18A team for the forthcoming SASHOC Inter-Provincial Tournament, and he showed off one of his valuable skills by uncorking a brilliant drag flick to convert the opportunity. With seconds left in the first chukka, Westville led.

At halftime, they remained a goal clear, and it remained that way through the third chukka, too.

Kearsney, however, embodied the never-say-die spirit that creates countless edge-of-your-seat endings to contests, especially in rivalry games. They replied to every Westville attack with one of their own and, towards the end of the match, the frequency of their attacks increased.

When Kearsney won a penalty corner, they turned to Keegan de Jager, one of their more influential players to pull them level. De Jager had been outstanding in defence, exiting confidently by threading accurate passes to his teammates.

He is, also, Kearsney’s primary penalty corner threat and he made good on that threat with a sharp conversion to make it 1-1 with just over a minute left on the clock.

In the other Friday Nite Lights contest, played at Balgowan, Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College shared an entertaining draw.

Michaelhouse headed into the contest off the back of an impressive 3-1 win over Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) at PBHS last week. College, meanwhile, had turned on the style on their Reunion Weekend to beat Kearsney 4-1.

Coach Nick Bérichon‘s Michaelhouse side has produced different match-winners across the season. Three players, Brunton Bigalke, William Gilson, Henry Love, were on target in Pretoria. On Friday night, though, it was a Gordon Deutscher brace that earned ‘House a share of the spoils against College.

Kadin Jenkins, who provided a superb assist for one of College’s goals against Kearsney, found the back of the net on this occasion, and Siwa Sithembu, who celebrated his 55th cap for the Red, Black, and White 1st XI, scored the other.

RESULTS

Westville 1-1 Kearsney
Michaelhouse 2-2 Maritzburg College

Voortrekker (Bethlehem) heads into the mid-year break on a high after a thrilling penalty shootout win away from home over their great rivals, Witteberg, for whom Amy Kotze played her 100th game.

Voortrekker triumphed 3-1 in the shootout after an exciting 3-3 draw in regulation time on Saturday.

It was a welcome victory after the team delivered some good hockey at the St Anne’s Cup, although results didn’t go their way.

A long break lies ahead of them now. They return to action in term three with a contest against Diamantveld on 26 July.

Reflecting on her charges winning the Bethlehem derby, Kirsten Beneke, the Voortrekker head coach, told Supersport Schools Plus: “I am pleased with the way the team played. I think it was one of the best comebacks I have seen at school level in a long time.”

Beneke and her assistant coach, Letlotlo Maphike, watched with pride as their charges put on a coming-of-age performance.

Spurred on by their home supporters, Witteberg took control of the encounter at the outset and Voortrekker found themselves chasing the game for much of the first half while they resolutely defended their goal.

However, the hosts’ persistence was rewarded with a goal when they won a penalty stroke five minutes into the second chukka. Voortrekker wasted no time in conjuring up a response, returning to equal footing when they equalised through Lana Wessels, who converted a short corner two minutes later.

Witteberg was outstanding with their penalty corner conversions, scoring all of their goals from their set piece. They doubled their lead eight minutes into the third quarter and went 3-1 up with another conversion with only 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

Voortrekker needed to reply quickly, and they did by throwing numbers forward and setting up camp in their rival’s half. Then, from an intercepted aerial, they drove towards goal and fired off a shot, which found Joma Viljoen, who slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Matters were intense as time ticked down and the visitors furiously chased an equaliser, dialling up the pressure as they played the game in Witteberg final third.

After repeated entries into the home team’s circle, Viljoen, again, found herself in the right place, picking up a ball played to the far post for a tap-in to make it 3-3.  That sent the game to a penalty shootout. The derby winner had yet to be decided.

With the game on the line, Jamie Rayner, Voortrekker’s goalkeeper, stepped up and pulled off two saves to win the game for her side. She was judged to be the Player of the Match for her heroics in the penalty shootout, and also for her role in keeping Voortrekker in the contest across the four chukkas.

Hermien van Biljon, Zanicka Maree, and Jolene Stevens were on target for the girls in black.

“They played with so much heart and as a team. They showed that hockey and this team is so much more to them than just an extramural,” Beneke said.

RESULT

Voortrekker (Bethlehem) (3) 3-3 (1) Witteberg

The 2025 edition of the SASHOC Inter-Provincial Tournament will be held in KwaZulu-Natal, and the host province, KwaZulu-Natal Inland, has assembled a side that it hopes will challenge for the title on home turf.

Maritzburg College will be the host the u18 boys’ matches on Pape’s Astro from 29 June to 5 July. The u18 girls’ tournament will run concurrently with the boys’ event, with matches being played at St Anne’s DSG, in Hilton.

Hilton College will be the venue for the u16 boys’ event from 7-13 July, while the u16 girls’ tournament takes place on the same dates at St Anne’s.

Hilton College’s Damian Kimfley will take the reins as the head coach of the Inland u18A boys’ team. He’ll be able to lean on assistant coach Mark Sanders, team analyst Nick Bérichon, and team manager, Jason Syce, for support.

That’s an impressive quartet: Sanders is the Director of Hockey and 1st XI coach at Maritzburg College. Bérichon is Michaelhouse’s head coach, and Syce is the SA u18A team manager.

“Selecting a team is never easy, and I’d like to extend my gratitude to everyone involved for their time and efforts. Our coaching staff boasts a wealth of experience, with familiar faces returning from last year,” Kimfley told Supersport Schools Plus.

KZN Inland’s experience is not limited to the coaching staff. They have a blend of seasoned talent and promising youth in their ranks. Five of their players – Reagan Mudau, Kadin Jenkins, Dane Jackson, Gordon Deutscher, and Jayden Roux – were part of the u18A team last year. Roux was one of their top performers in 2024 and earned selection to the SA u17 team.

Siwa Sithembu and Thandanani Zuma, who represented the national u16 side last year, take a step up to join the senior ranks.

Viwe Ndlovu will man the goalbox, for KZN Inland, while Matthew Thomas, Jayden Roux, Robert Burman, Gregor von Mayer, and Dane Jackson will line up in defence. Reagan Mudau, Xavier Enslin, Ben Heuer, Andile Lembethe, and Siwe Sithembu will hold the fort in the middle of the park.

Thandanani Zuma and Kadin Jenkins will put their talents to good use in the midfield and up front, working hand-in-hand with the talented trio of Tadi Hove, Gordon Deutscher, and Lynton Fitz, who are the team’s dedicated forwards.

“As Head Coach for the third year, I’ve seen steady progress,” Kimfley said, “from sixth place to fifth place last year. Although we narrowly missed the top four, losing only one game, I’m confident we’ll build on that momentum.

“This year, we’ll continue to refine our attacking style and aim for a medal. With a strong team and coaching staff, I’m excited to see what the tournament holds,” Kimfley concluded on an optimistic note.

KZN Inland u18A

Robert Burman (Hilton College), Gordon Deutscher (Michaelhouse), Xavier Enslin (Hilton College), Lynton Fitz (Maritzburg College), Ben Heuer (Michaelhouse), Tadi Hove (Hilton College), Dane Jackson (Maritzburg College), Kadin Jenkins (Maritzburg College), Andile Lembethe (Maritzburg College), Reagan Mudau (Hilton College), Viwe Ndlovu (Maritzburg College), Jayden Roux (Hilton College), Siwe Sithembu (Maritzburg College), Matthew Thomas (Hilton College), Gregor von Mayer (Michaelhouse), Thandanani Zuma (Michaelhouse).

Head Coach – Damian Kimfley (Hilton College)
Assistant Coach – Mark Sanders (Maritzburg College)
Performance Analyst – Nick Bérichon (Michaelhouse)
Team Manager – Jason Syce

Durban Girls College (DGC) brought the curtain down on the Independent Schools Sports Festival (ISSF) with a 3-0 win over St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls in the final match of the showpiece, at DGC, on Saturday afternoon.

With that win, the hosts completed an unbeaten run in the two-day event, which featured 15 schools.

On Friday, DGC picked up two wins in two outings. Then, in an early game on Saturday morning, they drew 0-0 with St Mary’s Waverley.

They followed that up with a 3-0 win over St Andrew’s School for Girls before repeating that scoreline in their victory over St Dominic’s.

DGC’s sparring partners in the last match of the day, St Dominic’s did not have the best of campaigns, going winless in their five outings, although that record included a couple of draws.

They went down 0-1 to St Anne’s in their first fixture on Friday, and then recorded commendable 0-0 draws with St Mary’s DSG, Kloof and St John’s DSG.

Their Saturday began as their Friday had begun, however, with a 0-1 loss. This time, it was Maris Stella who claimed the win.

Brescia House suffered three losses on Friday, going down to Epworth, Our Lady of Fatima, and Maris Stella. On Saturday, though, they forced a 0-0 draw with St John’s DSG before tumbling to a 0-3 defeat to the St Mary’s Waverley Festival champion, St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.

Another Johannesburg side, St Stithians fared better, although their results were mixed. They were beaten by St John’s DSG and St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, drew with Our Lady of Fatima, and recorded victories over Epworth and Maris Stella.

The most successful of the sides from the City of Gold was St Mary’s Waverley. Like DGC, they remained unbeaten after two days of action. After opening their campaign with a 0-0 draw against St Mary’s DSG Kloof, they handed St Anne’s a 2-1 loss.

Then came their goalless draw with DGC on Saturday morning before they chalked up their second victory with a 2-1 victory over Maris Stella before they rounded off their successful run with another 0-0 draw with Our Lady of Fatima.

RESULTS

Maris Stella 1-0 St Dominic’s
St John’s DSG 0-0 Brescia House
St Mary’s Waverley 0-0 DGC
St Andrew’s School for Girls 2-1 Our Lady of Fatima
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 2-0 St Stithians College
DGC 3-0 St Andrew’s School for Girls
St Anne’s 3-0 Kingsmead
Maris Stella 0-0 Roedean
St Andrew’s School for Girls 2-1 Our Lady of Fatima
St John’s DSG 1-0 St Teresa’s
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 3-0 Brescia House
St Mary’s Waverley 0-0 Our Lady of Fatima
St Anne’s 3-0 St Teresa’s
St Mary’s Waverley 2-1 Maris Stella
Epworth 0-0 Roedean
St John’s DSG 2-0 Kingsmead
Our Lady of Fatima 0-0 St Stithians
Epworth 1-0 St Andrew’s School for Girls
DGC 3-0 St Dominic’s

Ferrum High was crowned the SPAR KZN Girls Hockey KZN North champion after a 1-0 win over Newcastle High School in the final of the regional tournament, at St Dominic’s Newcastle, on Saturday.

The victory secured Ferrum the tenth and last berth at the SPAR KZN Tournament Grand Finals, which will be hosted by St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, on 26 and 27 July.

They join Wartburg Kirchdorf School (Umvoti and uThukela Regional), St Patrick’s College (Ugo and Sisonke Regional), Felixton College (KZN North Coastal Regional), Ashton Ballito (Durban North Regional), Maris Stella (Durban Central Regional), St Mary’s, DSG Kloof (Highway Regional), Epworth School (Pietermaritzburg Central Regional), St Anne’s Diocesan College (Pietermaritzburg North Regional), and Kingsway High (Durban South Regional) in the lineup.

The final leg of the regional tournaments was a seven-team affair, featuring Ferrum, Amajuba High School, Dundee High School, Newcastle, Pongola Academy, Sarel Cilliers, and St Dominic’s.

Ferrum was indomitable. They have won the regional title 10 times, and they did it again in style. Hoërskool Pionier has lifted the trophy twice, while Sarel Cilliers and St Dominic’s have won it once each, but Ferrum has been the standard-setter in the region.

They entered the tournament eager to defend the title they won last year, and they did so in emphatic fashion, picking up the maximum 24 points from their round-robin fixtures after scoring six wins from six matches.

Not only did they go unbeaten through the round-robin phase, Ferrum, also, didn’t concede a goal. They beat Amajuba 4-0, Dundee 3-0, Pongola Academy 5-0, Sarel Cilliers 2-0, Newcastle 2-0, and St Dominic’s 4-0. It was domination.

Newcastle, meanwhile, was making a first-ever appearance at the regional final and they made a positive impression, scoring three wins, two draws, and a single loss to tally 14 points.

They scored only four goals, but their defence was sound, with Ferrum the only team able to breech it. Newcastle edged out Amajuba 1-0, drew 0-0 with Dundee, won 2-0 over Pongola Academy, edged Sarel Cilliers 1-0, and drew 0-0 with St Dominic’s.

In the final, Ferrum came out strongly, eager to stamp their authority on the new kids on the block. They created numerous chances but Lilly Akobian, Newcastle’s goalkeeper, played out of her socks to keep her side in the contest.

Eventually, though, in the second half, Ferrum broke the deadlock through Lizandre Berry.

With an unblemished defensive record, the KZN North Regional champions showed that they were a class above their challengers. That defence. though, will face a stiff test at the Grand Finals.

Michaelhouse produced a polished performance to defeat Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) 3-1 at PBHS on Saturday morning.

Coach Nick Bérichon‘s side was the only one of the three KwaZulu-Natal teams visiting Gauteng to win their hockey derby.

Clifton drew with their hosts, St David’s Marist Inanda, and St Charles College lost to St Stithians College respectively.

No one gets an easy ride against Clifton, but, frustratingly for the Durban school, they’ve come out on the wrong side of many one-goal games this season and that was again the case against St David’s, who won 2-1. St Stithians, meanwhile, outclassed St Charles 8-3.

“I’m so pleased with the number of chances we created,” Bérichon said after Michaelhouse’s win. “We were fast and dynamic on attack and opened them up.”

Although they were the visitors, Michaelhouse didn’t allow PBHS the luxury of settling down, dominating territory and possession early on, which led to their opener, scored by Brunton Bigalke in the first chukka.

Bérichon’s charges made good use of space, connected well with their passes, and their tight pressing led to numerous turnovers. They, then, turned that possession into a second goal in the second quarter, with William Gilson providing the finish.

Playing in front of their home faithful, Boys High found a response in the third chukka to half the visitors’ lead, scoring from a scorching tomahawk after a sweeping counterattack.

Michaelhouse, though, had the final say, with Henry Love bagging their third in the final chukka to restore their two-goal cushion. It was his ninth goal of the season.

Love’s goal was the coup de grace that Michaelhouse lacked when they fell 2-3 to Northwood recently.

Bérichon was pleased to see his charges translate what they had worked on at training into a match situation, especially since they did it far from familiar surroundings.

“It’s not easy to come up here and win but I thought that we dominated the game, so I’m very pleased we got the result,” Bérichon declared.

RESULTS

Michaelhouse 3-1 Pretoria Boys High
St David’s Marist Inanda 2-2 Clifton College
St Stithians College 8-3 St Charles College

Maritzburg College celebrated their Reunion Day in style, with coach Mark Sanders’ team giving their old boys plenty to cheer after a 4-1 win over Kearsney College on Pape’s Astro, on Saturday.

The hosts hardly put a foot wrong in the match. “I am proud of them and the way they are playing hockey, and the maturity they are playing with,” Sanders told Supersport Schools Plus after the contest.

In preparation for the game, College began their day by hearing from some of their alumni who have represented South Africa. Then, just before the start, they celebrated four players – Uyanda Dlamini, Dane Jackson, Siwa Sithembu, and Greg Askew – who walked out to a guard of honour for having earned 50 first team caps.

They’d got to that milestone a little earlier in the season, but it was decided to celebrate their achievements on Reunion Weekend. Dlamini is up to 63 caps, Jackson is close behind with 56, while Sithembu and Askew have 55 apiece.

Coach Keagan Pearce’s Kearsney side was always going to offer a tricky challenge and, said Sanders, College was not about to underestimate them. They did their homework on the Botha’s Hill boys and rolled out a deep press to deal with the threat of overheads when Kearsney was attempting to exit from the back.

While Kearsney had their moments on offence, Maritzburg enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and controlled the game for long periods.

“We were always in control and managed whatever threat they had. We controlled the ball and put it into good areas and tried to connect with as many players as possible,” Sanders said.

College’s control of possession and their success at stringing passes together brought them their first goal after 18 minutes, with Ross van der Vliet striking a field goal, his fourth of the season.

The pressure from the hosts also forced Kearsney into mistakes and one of those missteps led to a short corner. Dane Jackson made full use of the opportunity, beating the ‘keeper low to his right for College’s second.

Although the hosts dictated terms for the most part, that did not mean that Kearsney sat back and let College run them down. Pearce’s charges counter-punched, with Keegan de Jager excelling in defence. He, also, struck from a penalty corner for Kearsney to cut the deficit in half.

It was 2-1 until the last 12 minutes of play. Then, after College foiled a Kearsney attack, they countered swiftly. It took only three passes and the Red, Black, and White once again owned a two-goal advantage.

Dane Jackson initiated the attack after picking up the ball in defence, and played it to Kadin Jenkins, who found Van der Vliet up front with a beautifully weighted pass in the circle.

Van der Vliet, then, found himself face-to-face with Thando Marafane, the Kearsney goalkeeper, but he slipped a first-time shot to the right of the netminder to win the one-on-one contest.

Rory Schirge slammed the final nail into the coffin with a goal just one minute from the end with a neat and composed deflection. 

RESULT

Maritzburg College 4-1 Kearsney

Glenwood High overturned a 0-2 deficit to capture a 4-3 win over Westville Boys High in an enthralling Friday Nite Lights encounter at Westville on Friday evening.

In a big win for the Green Machine and a massive boost for Glenwood hockey, Xaydon Kariko, Mesuli Msomi, Murray Wicks, and Siya Malatjie were on target for the visitors.

“The team moved the ball and utilised the press well,” a pleased Michael Labuschagne, the Glenwood first-team coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus afterwards.

Glenwood headed into the game off the back of a lopsided loss at the hands of Northwood and  Labuschagne’s charges were eager to show that their result from last week was not a representation of who they are as a team. However, at the halfway point of the contest, they were experiencing déjà vu.

As they did last week, Glenwood conceded first. Westville went 1-0 up towards the end of the second chukka.

Coach Cameron Mackay’s charges came close to opening the scoring after driving into the visitors’ circle. They were stopped, but Glenwood conceded a penalty corner. Westville spurned their first attempt. However, they were rewarded with a retake and, despite overshooting the injection, they scrambled and found a way through.

Five minutes into the third chukka, and Westville had doubled their lead, netting off the rebound of the goalkeeper’s excellent stop of a goal-bound shot.

Two goals down, Glenwood kept their cool. “The guys stuck to the structure of the plan and kept doing things the way they were supposed to,” Labuschagne told Supersport Schools Plus.

Their discipline was rewarded when Kariko pulled one back for the visitors in the third chukka. Westville reacted by going in search of a third goal that would restore their two-goal lead. It was, however, Glenwood who struck instead.

With just over a minute to play in the third quarter, Msomi grabbed the equaliser. At a penalty corner, he fired off a shot towards the Glenwood goal. The ‘keeper made the stop, but the ball rebounded to Msomi, and he gobbled up the opportunity.

At 2-2, there was everything to play for, and neither side was willing to settle for a draw. A thrilling 15 minutes remained.

Glenwood emerged an inspired side in the last chukka. They were a player down for most it, but that was barely perceptible because they ran hard and covered for each other.

Their persistence on attack, then, earned the Green Machine a penalty stroke and Murray Wicks easily converted from the P-spot to give his team they lead. Westville came right back to level matters.

The sides were deadlocked on three goals apiece until the final seconds of the encounter. But then, Krian Jugoo threaded a pass from the right side through to Siya Malatjie, the Glenwood captain, in the Westville circle. With only 38 seconds left on the clock, he drilled it into the back of the net to seal a 4-3 victory with a cracking winner.

RESULTS

Glenwood 4-3 Westville