Author: cschiwanza

St Patrick’s College was crowned the SPAR KZN Girls Hockey Sisonke and Ugu Regional champion after they defeated Southcity Christian School 1-0 in the final of their regional tournament, at Creston College, on Saturday.

The victory made St Patrick’s the eighth team to book a 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 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.

St Patrick’s, who lifted the regional trophy last year, kicked off their campaign in Pool A, along with the hosts Creston College, Suid Natal High School, St Monica’s Diocesan School, Southcity Christian School, and Ixopo High School.

In group action, the defending champions bagged 16 out of a possible 20 points. They got the ball rolling with a 2-0 win over Ixopo, which they followed with a 3-0 victory over St Monica’s. They overcame Southcity 2-0, before registering a 2-0 triumph over Creston in their penultimate encounter. Their run of victories was stopped by Suid Natal in their final group match, who scraped a narrow 1-0 win.

Still, they topped Pool A, which secured them a semifinal clash with Kokstad College, who had finished second in Pool B.

Kokstad gave a good account of themselves in their group, scoring two wins, a draw, and a loss. They won against Bergview School (2-0) and Scottburgh High (4-0), were held to a 0-0 draw by King Edward High, and lost 1-2 to Port Shepstone High.

With a place in the final on the line, Kokstad gave St Patrick’s a good run for their money. They were unyielding and the contest ended 0-0 after regulation time. St Patrick’s, though, advanced 2-0 on penalties.

They faced Southcity for the second time on the day in the title game.

Southcity had finished in second place in Pool A, with their loss to St Patrick’s being their only defeat. They recorded wins over St Monica’s (1-0), Suid Natal (1-0), and Ixopo (3-0), and shared a goalless draw with Creston.

Those results and the second-place finish earned them a semi-final date with Pool B winners, Port Shepstone, who went unbeaten in the group. They beat King Edward 2-0, slotted another two unanswered goals past Scottburgh, edged Kokstad 2-1, and then overcame Bergview 2-0.

The Southcity versus Port Shepstone semi-final finished 1-1, but Southcity reached the final after claiming the penalty shootout 1-0.

Having faced Southcity earlier in the day, St Patrick’s knew how to win against their opponents for the title. Southcity tightened up their defence and did a better job in the final, but all St Patrick’s needed was one goal and they got it to claim the title by a 1-0 margin.

The SPAR KZN Girls’ Hockey Tournament will visit Ladysmith High School for the Pietermaritzburg Inland Regional competition on the 24 May, before heading to St Dominic’s, in Newcastle, for the KZN North Regional tournament on 31 May.

Grey College was in top form against Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in their Hyundai Friday Nite Lights contest at Grey College on Friday evening, romping to a 4-1 victory.

Waldo Konig, with two goals, Wian Griesel, and Gianni Tyropolis, were on target for Grey College.

With strong support in the stands, the home side did not disappoint their backers. Their schoolmates sang out their support with gusto, and the songs were the wind beneath College’s wings.

Affies stood firm and denied the hosts a goal in the first chukka, but Grey broke through in the second. Coach Dallan Phillips’ had done a good job of exerting pressure, and they were rewarded with a well-worked field goal three minutes into the second quarter.

First, they turned over possession high up the field. Then, they made ground down the left flank and broke open the deadlock by squeezing in a goal after a bit of a scramble in front of the goal box.

“I am very happy with our pressing tonight. We put Affies under pressure, especially early on,” Phillips said after the match.

The visitors did a good job repelling all of Grey College’s subsequent attempts on goal in the remainder of the chukka. However, the hosts could be kept out only so long, and, shortly after halftime, they added another field goal.

They extended their advantage to 3-0 with a penalty corner in the last chukka, but Affies pulled one back four minutes later, also from a shorty.

With Affies chasing another goal to make a game of it, Grey College sat deep and soaked up the pressure. Then, they struck a hammer blow on the counterattack, knocking in their fourth goal with less than five minutes left on the clock to secure the win.

“I was impressed by our defence. The boys did really well at the back. But I feel we leave a lot of goals on the pitch. We need to work on our goal-scoring,” Phillips reflected on the contest.

Something else Grey College will need to address is their discipline. They were, at one point, reduced to nine players, with two men in the bin. That aside, Phillips’s side played as good a match as they could have.

RESULT

Grey College 4-1 Affies

Northwood lit up the evening, overturning a 1-2 deficit to score a scintillating 3-2 win over Michaelhouse in a Friday Nite Lights clash on the Punchbowl Astro, in Balgowan.

Luc Boyall, Caleb Phipson, and Ryan Herselman were on target for Northwood, with a goal each.

“I am very proud of the determination shown by the boys as they fought hard for a late goal which provided us with the 3-2 win,” Justin Collins, the Northwood coach, told Supersport Schools Plus, after the game.

“We have had an unlucky set of results recently and this win has helped us to build up momentum again for the upcoming fixtures.”

Both sides had their chances to take the lead in the opening chukka. As Collins put it: “It was a very tightly contested game, with momentum being shifted constantly between the two sides.” However, neither outfit found a breakthrough and the quarter ended with the scores tied 0-0.

Michaelhouse was causing problems for Northwood via the right flank with increasing frequency. The hosts ran hard on that side and made several circle entries, and from one of those runs, they earned themselves a penalty stroke for a stick tackle that prevented a shot. Gordon Deutscher converted it to put the boys in red and white ahead.

Northwood immediately sought to restore parity and their offensive forays eventually paid dividends when Luc Boyall finished a PC variation six minutes before the end of the second chukka.

The Knights went behind again, however, when they were caught out a second before the end of the third chukka. They appeared to be clock-watching when Michaelhouse turned over possession just outside the Northwood circle. One pass, and a good reception and turn, opened up the shot that edged them in front once more.

With less than five minutes left in the match, it looked as if the contest would finish 2-1 in favour of Michaelhouse. Northwood was giving it their all, but the ‘House defence stood firm.

However, with only three minutes remaining, the Durban school won a penalty corner and, with a cleanly executed slip to the left, followed by a ball to the far post, they were back on level terms through Caleb Phipson’s smart finish.

Less than a minute later, Northwood found the winning goal after they regained possession immediately after losing it in Michaelhouse’s final third. After the ball was centred, Ryan Herselman fired off a quick shot, picked up the stopped shot, and bundled the ball over the line to snatch victory for the Knights, who had lost 4-5 to Michaelhouse at the same venue in March.

“Michaelhouse was a very strong and structured team, who were very well coached,” Northwood coach Justin Collins said.

“It was a very enjoyable game to watch, and we are grateful for the accommodation that they provided.”

RESULT

Northwood 3-2 Michaelhouse

Hilton College and Maritzburg College played outstanding hockey to chalk up exciting victories over Glenwood High School and Westville Boys’ High on Friday.

Hilton fought their way to a 3-2 win over Glenwood, at the 3 Schools Astro, in Durban, while College cantered to a 2-0 win over Westville, on Pape’s Astro, in Pietermaritzburg.

“We had to work for the win and my boys played nicely. We had to adapt our press slightly and the way we outlet to get the result that I am proud of,” Damian Kimfley, the Hilton coach, told Supersport Schools Plus after their game.

Glenwood, a team on the rise in 2025, looked confident and moved with purpose. They sought to dominate the midfield, with relative success, and were able to make runs into the Hilton half where they encountered a resolute defence.

Kimfley’s charges had a point to make; they hadn’t journeyed to Glenwood to make up the numbers. So, they attacked as much as they defended. They, too, ran into an organised defence and the first chukka ended on equal terms, 0-0.

Hilton began the second chukka the brighter of the sides, putting Glenwood under early pressure, and they reaped the rewards. From a short corner, Ben Wilson, on the second castle, made no mistake, drilling the ball into the right corner to put Hilton ahead five minutes into chukka.

The visitors doubled their lead four minutes later. After thwarting a Glenwood attack, they launched a brisk counterattack, with Tadi Hove receiving the final pass and firing the ball into the back of the net from a tight angle.

Hilton’s two-goal lead was short-lived, however. Playing with urgency, Glenwood went in search of a reply. Battling tigerishly, they won several one-on-one duels, and it was that kind of persistence that enabled them to pull a goal back four minutes from halftime.

Kimfley’s charges, though, answered Glenwood’s goal with a wonderfully executed penalty corner seconds before the end of the chukka. Rob Burman uncorked an unstoppable shot and the visitors were 3-1 up at the break.

The end-to-end action continued in the third chukka with numerous close calls. Hilton couldn’t find the last touch, but Glenwood found the back of the net with less than three minutes remaining in the quarter.

Attempts from both teams in the final chukka were rebuffed and it ended 3-2 in favour of Hilton.

“I was extremely impressed with Glenwood and how they played. They pressed with great intensity and countered with purpose,” Kimfley said in a nod to the never-say-die home side.

In Pietermaritzburg, Maritzburg College dominated play against Westville, much to the appreciation of their home crowd. However, they also spurned a fair few chances, much to their supporters’ dismay.

Lynton Fitz saved the hosts the blushes with two goals that bookended the encounter. The first came early in the first chukka and the second came in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

“I was happy with the way the boys controlled the game today,” College coach Mark Sanders said afterwards.

RESULTS

Hilton 3-2 Glenwood
Maritzburg College 2-0 Westville

St Anne’s marched to a 4-1 win over Durban Girls College (DGC) when the schools crossed swords at DGC on Wednesday.

Coach Morne Odendaal’s charges are enjoying a rich vein of form. They headed into the match on the back of an emphatic 7-1 thrashing of Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School (PGHS) on Tuesday.

In that win, Tori Pearson ran riot, scoring four sensational goals. The Grade 10 learner has been prolific in the circle and has been on the scoresheet in almost every match that she has played. In their previous outing, against Witteberg, Pearson scored one of St Anne’s goals in their 2-0 victory.

She’s the Hilton school’s leading scorer, with 11 goals to her name, and it was no surprise when her name showed up on the scoresheet in their triumph over DGC.

In Wednesday’s first half, St Anne’s and DGC appeared evenly matched They made forays into the opposition half, but both failed to convert chances. The match turned in the third chukka, though.

The visitors had been probing down DGC’s left flank with enterprising runs for most of the match and they finally succeeded when Belle Hofmeyer took advantage of a good build-up by her side to break the line and set up Georgie Davies, who made no mistake. St Anne’s made it 2-0 when Jasmine Kelly drilled the ball past the DGC defensive wall off a short corner a short while later.

Those two goals rattled DGC, and they were aware that if they didn’t find a prompt reply, St Anne’s might run away with the contest. DGC amped up their attack in the final quarter, but their efforts were met by a well-organised defence.

However, DGC’s attacking efforts also left them open to a counterattack and they paid the price when Pearson converted her 11th goal of the season off a counter. The home team, courageously, kept attacking, however, and they were rewarded with a goal to reduce the deficit to two goals.

St Anne’s, in turn, refused to sit on their lead and defend. They kept taking it to DGC and one of their excursions into the home team’s half brought them a penalty corner. When Iminati Ngxola deflected the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-1, she had driven the final nail into the coffin.

It’s been a busy time for St Anne’s. The DGC clash was their second in three days, and they face a third in five days when they take on The Wykeham Collegiate (TWC), in Pietermaritzburg, on Friday. It will be brother against brother when they meet, with Emile Odendaal in charge of TWC and Morné coaching St Anne’s.

The busy run of matches will also serve as good preparation for the the hosts of the annual St Anne’s Cup, which features a strong 12-team field and kicks off on 22 May.

Felixton College was crowned the SPAR KZN Hockey North Coastal Regional champion when they defeated Grantleigh 2-1 on penalties after the final had finished goalless, at Grantleigh on Saturday.

The victory made Felixton the seventh team to book a 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 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 North Coastal region’s hockey has been dominated by two powerhouses, Grantleigh, the seven-time winners, and Felixton, who has twice lifted the title.

They got the competition off to a sparkling start, meeting in the first game of the day. It didn’t disappoint, with the hosts, Grantleigh, snatching a 1-0 victory after a thrilling encounter.

Felixton regrouped and bounced back with a 2-0 win over John Ross College in their second outing. That was the beginning of a five-match winning streak, which included them outclassing Empangeni 7-0, beating Eshowe 3-0, overpowering Richards Bay 6-0, and scoring another 3-0 win, this time over St Catherine’s.

During that run, they scored 21 goals without reply to collect 20 points, which left them in second place after the round-robin stage of the tournament.

Grantleigh, the defending champion, had their eyes set on another title and they began the defence of the title they won last year on the right note with their tight 1-0 win over Felixton. That was just the beginning.

They, too, won their next five games, recording 3-0 defeats of St Catherine’s, John Ross College, and Empangeni, to go with a 6-0 hammering of Richards Bay and a big 5-0 win over Eshowe.

Those results left Grantleigh with the maximum 24 points on offer in the round-robin stage of the tournament. Finishing top of the standings, also, secured them another meeting with Felixton, this time for the silverware.

In their second match of the day, Felixton was better prepared than they were in the morning. They rose to Grantleigh’s level. There was nothing to separate the sides after regulation time had run out in the title game.

A penalty shootout, though, decided the contest 2-1 in favour of Felixton.

The next leg of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls Hockey Tournament takes place on 17 May when the KZN South Coastal teams meet at Creston College.

St Alban’s College and Hilton College claimed hard-fought victories over Clifton College and Pretoria Boys’ High School (PBHS) respectively, on Saturday morning in KwaZulu-Natal.

St Alban’s beat Clifton 2-1 at the Riverside Sports Club, while Hilton won at home, on the Mansergh Astro.

Clifton went all out. They had a point to prove to their old boys who were in attendance, celebrating their Founders Weekend. St Alban’s, on the other hand, had different ideas. They hadn’t travelled close to 600 kilometres to serve as the whipping boys.

“We are happy with the result. Calvin Price (the Clifton coach) did his homework on us and his side is well-drilled,” Guy Elliott, the St Alban’s coach, said after the match.

The contest was a tactical battle, which made for a cagey clash. It was more of a chess match than anything else, Elliott reckoned.

St Alban’s has been on an upward curve over the last few years. Their path has not been a trailblazing one, but rather one of gradual improvement. That means that they have had to find ways to compete against the established top schools and that has meant playing with good structure and discipline.

“We pride ourselves on being organised, whether it’s in pressing, central defence, or deep defence. We have such a structure because we go into most encounters as underdogs,” Elliott told SuperSport Schools Plus. “For us to stay in the game against top schools, we have to be organised in defence. If we are organised in defence, we can create opportunities from that.”

The visitors started the game well and worked their way up the Astro until they won a penalty corner in the third minute. Then, Will Hewett converted the opportunity into a goal, beating Clifton goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter low and to his right.

The hosts wrested control of the game after conceding and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. However, they were unable to do much with it. St Alban’s defended with depth and kept their shape, soaking up the pressure, keeping Clifton at arm’s length in the final third, and frustrating the home team.

However, Clifton’s biggest problem was their inability to transition through the different sections of the field. They were guilty of frequently turning over possession, often going for the long ball when it wasn’t on, and they conceded 42 turnovers to 20 for St Alban’s. That was the primary difference in the game, Clifton coach Calvin Price said.

The hosts kept pushing bodies into the St Alban’s half, but their efforts to find an equaliser left them vulnerable to a counterattack, and the Pretoria school made them pay with a swift counter, which resulted in a penalty stroke when Wolhuter, in the Clifton goal, took out the man and not the ball. Michael Meiring made no mistake from the P-spot.

At the very beginning of the fourth chukka, Nick Northend cut St Alban’s lead in half when he finished off a scything move at the far post. Clifton made it look easy when they scored, but St Alban’s immediately clamped down on them again, keeping the home side at bay until the final whistle.

Up in the KZN midlands, Hilton College’s contest against Pretoria Boys High had much in common with Clifton’s against Boys High’s city neighbours, St Alban’s.

Hilton did most of the attacking, but Pretoria Boys High repelled their efforts time after time, with goalkeeper Owen McMinamin proving to be a rock-solid last line of defence when the home side got shots away.

Hilton ran hard and dominated both possession and territory, on a hot day, but they found little joy. There is, however, only so much defending a team can do.

The hosts’ relentless attacks, at last, reaped a reward in the fourth chukka when they executed a penalty corner with precision. They kept it simple, and Ben Wilson drilled the ball into the left-hand corner to put Hilton into the lead with just 10 minutes remaining in the match.

Had coach Damian Kimfley’s charges not walked away with a victory, McMinamin, in the Boys High goalbox, would have been a worthy candidate for the Player of the Match award. He was outstanding and frustrated all but one of the home side’s attacks.

RESULTS

St Alban’s College 2-1 Clifton
Hilton 1-0 PBHS

Michaelhouse was in superb form as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Kearsney College at the Punchbowl Astro, at Michaelhouse, on Friday afternoon.

In the day’s other KZN match, Maritzburg College walloped St Charles College 5-0, at Saints.

Michaelhouse emerged from their big derby against Hilton last week bruised but not battered. In that game, they gave their rivals a good run for their money and the contest finished 1-1.

Despite it being a gruelling encounter, ‘House‘s hunger for victory was undiminished and they satiated that desire with a convincing triumph over Kearsney.

The visitors got the match underway. However, it was Michaelhouse who claimed the early momentum. They denied Kearsney room to manoeuvre and created more goal-scoring opportunities

The home side drew first blood when, after forcing a turnover on the halfway line, a defence-splitting pass put Henry Love through and he grabbed his chance, burying the ball behind Kearsney goalkeeper Thando Marafane.

Coach Nick Bérichon’s charges made life uncomfortable for the Botha’s Hill boys, never allowing them time to settle, and that hard work brought further reward when they doubled their lead just two minutes after their first goal through Gordon Deutscher, who has been in scorching hot form in front of goal. Kearsney was stunned.

“We were so dynamic in attack. It was great to see us start well again after starting the majority of our games very conservatively,” Bérichon told Supersport Schools Plus after the game.

Kearsney did themselves no favours when they made a hash of clearing the ball from their final third after a Michaelhouse excursion into their circle. An overhead went awry and looped to a Michaelhouse player in the Kearsney half, which led to the hosts launching an attack down the left flank. Marafane denied a Michaelhouse shot on goal, but the rebound was gratefully gobbled up by Sithsaba Simukonda, who tucked the ball away to increase his team’s lead.

That hammer blow came just a minute before half-time, leaving Michaelhouse with a healthy 3-0 advantage and half the game to go.

Despite the efforts of both sides, neither was able to score in the second stanza.

Michaelhouse’s victory over Kearsney was their 10th win of the season. It has been an impressive campaign for the Balgowan boys whose win rate after 14 matches is 71 percent. Besides their wins, they’ve drawn two and lost only two.

While Bérichon was happy to allow his players to take the credit, he quietly pointed to others for the team’s successes, including assistant coach, Lwando Saunders, whom he identified as having played an invaluable role in Michaelhouse’s strong season.

In Pietermaritzburg, Maritzburg College romped to an emphatic 5-0 victory over their hosts, St Charles College.

College struck just before the end of the first half’s two chukkas. Their first goal, the result of great passing finished off by a rocket past the St Charles’ goalkeeper, came just three minutes before the end of the opening chukka.

As they did in the first quarter, St Charles fought for the ball with great energy and made enterprising runs into College’s half in the second chukka. Their spirited forays into College’s final third threatened to prise open the visitors’ defence, but the Red Army stood firm.

Instead, it was College who came away with a goal from the chukka. It came from a penalty corner and gave coach Mark Sanders’ charges a 2-0 halftime lead.

In the third chukka, College flipped the script. They broke free of St Charles’s high press and took advantage of the acres of space their opposition offered them by committing bodies up front. Very quickly, they had their third. It came from three accurate passes and the ball was in the back of the net.

A three-goal cushion could have guaranteed victory for College with a little more than a chukka to go in the contest. They, however, put the outcome beyond the reach of Saints when they nailed their fourth goal less than three minutes before the end of the third quarter.

Sanders’ charges underlined their dominance when they converted a penalty corner just over a minute before the final whistle to register their fifth goal.

RESULTS

Michaelhouse 3-0 Kearsney
Maritzburg College 5-0 St Charles College

A big week of action lies ahead for most of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading boys’ hockey teams. Two of the top sides travel to the highveld, while the rest have fixtures in familiar surroundings.

Clifton College hosts St Alban’s College on their Founders Weekend, with the first team clash happening at 11:15 on Saturday morning at the Riverside Sports Club, the home of Clifton Sport.

Coach Calvin Price‘s boys, after a strong showing at the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield, where they finished as the top-performing KZN side, will be aiming to provide great winning entertainment for their alumni and other spectators.

Last year, on their Founders Weekend, they faced St Charles College and walloped them 5-2. They’ll be hoping for another classy performance against their visitors from Pretoria.

Coach Mark Sanders’ Maritzburg College has a date with Clifton’s victims from last year, St Charles. College heads into the tie looking to build upon their last result at the Hibbert Shield, a 2-1 win over Selborne College. Sanders’ team achieved perfectly symmetrical results in Gqeberha – they won two, lost two, and drew two matches.

Last week, Kearsney College fought back to draw 1-1 with Northwood in a Friday Nite Lights match, in Durban. Coach Keegan Pearce‘s side showed plenty of heart against a dangerous Knights side. Pearce would welcome a similarly spirited showing against coach Nick Bérichon’s Michaelhouse team, which has quietly put together an impressive season.

Like Kearsney, Michaelhouse comes into the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw. They crossed swords with their arch-rivals, Hilton College, last Saturday and shared the spoils with coach Damian Kimfley’s well-oiled unit.

Hilton, meanwhile, takes on Pretoria Boys’ High at home in a derby. Earlier this season, they met at the Nomads Hockey Festival, in Johannesburg, and it took a late equaliser for Hilton to pull off a 2-2 draw.

Kimfley will hope that his side can apply the positives from their tie against Michaelhouse and walk away with a victory in front of their home fans.

Westville Boys’ High and Northwood head up to the highveld for derby encounters.

Coach Cam Mackay‘s young Westville side has taken a while to get into the swing of the season. However, they have shown flashes of brilliance and their form is on the up.

The Griffin finished in a respectable 10th place at the Hibbert Shield and will take confidence from their performances at Grey High School when they travel to meet King Edward VII (KES) in Johannesburg.

Coach Justin Collins’ Northwood burned a few chances in their 1-1 draw with Kearsney last Friday. Collins will hope that his charges are more clinical in the circle in their showdown against an in-form Jeppe High School for Boys team, in Johannesburg.

Besides the spurned opportunities against Kearsney, Collins was impressed by the way his charges acquitted themselves on the Astro.

Fans and followers of KZN boys’ hockey have an almost full buffet from which to choose. However, Durban High School (DHS) and coach Keegan Hezlett have the weekend off. They’ll be back in action in the new week.