Author: cschiwanza

St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, added a new trophy to their burgeoning cabinet on the weekend. They returned home from Johannesburg with their first title of the year, the prestigious St Mary’s Waverley Festival crown.

“It’s a great achievement. We worked hard for it, so we will definitely enjoy the reward,” Nolwazi Nkabinde, the St Mary’s DSG head coach, shared after they had touched down in KZN.

Nkabinde led a young side with only one Grade 12 learner in the team, their captain, Nicola Forbes. The St Mary’s captain, one of just five players who were part of St Mary’s DSG’s campaign last year, was a workhorse in the midfield, an area they dominated in their contests. She was named the Player of the Tournament.

The other four who turned out for the KZN side in 2024 are Ella Bowyer, Jamie da Silva, Jenna-Leigh Freese, and Georgia Short. That quintet helped St Mary’s DSG bridge the gap between youth and inexperience, and they brought their collective match wisdom to the team.

“We do have a lot of u16 players,” Nkabinde said. “We lean a lot on our sisterhood and are always working to make each other better for our team and school.

“They are still learning and are always pushing themselves to be better than the previous game,” Nkabinde explained.

Sisterhood is an important part of the St Mary’s DSG’s values and principles. During their campaign in Johannesburg, the ladies from Kloof were inundated with messages from their schoolmates and teachers who had remained in KZN, former learners and players, and parents of current and former students at the institution. However, not all of the messages were of encouragement. One was a sad one.

Caelan Armour, a St Mary’s first-team player in 2023, suffered a bereavement when her mother passed away whilst running the Two Oceans Marathon, in Cape Town. The team received the news moments after winning their semifinal match. That’s why St Mary’s DSG wore black armbands in the final. They, also, dedicated their performance to the Armour family.

“Understanding and respecting each player in the team is very important. Our five senior players from 2024 have been mentoring and preparing the younger players for what is expected of them in the first team set-up,” Caryn Springate, the St Mary’s DSG Director of Hockey, said.

“We have a great group of girls, good humans, who have so much fun together. When they get onto the field, they work hard for each other and know what is expected of them.”

St Mary’s DSG found the back of the net in nine of their 12 encounters at the festival thanks to Jamie da Silva’s ability in front of goal. The forward’s incisiveness in the circle and work off the ball brought her seven goals, the most in her team. Her goalscoring prowess was a combination of both individual talent and teamwork.

St Mary’s DSG had a solid plan heading into the festival. “In preparation for Waverley, we ensured that in the games we played we focussed on the first five minutes of each game, applying a full-court press and attacking with numbers, to create scoring opportunities,” Springate explained.

Da Silva’s goalscoring efforts were bolstered by the contributions of others. Georgia Short scored six goals, while Tayte Stewart found the back of the net four times. Forbes, Ella Wood, Tain Enslin, Olivia Lord, and Sarah Patterson also scored during the tournament. The Kloof girls were also sound at the back, and when their backline was breached the opposition found themselves face-to-face with goalkeeper Ziyanda Mchunu, who was named the runner-up for the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award.

“Winning the semis on shoot-outs to make it through to the final was a great feeling. We were so proud of our goalkeeper, Ziyanda,” Springate said. “For a young girl, a grade 10, and her first Waverley tournament, to rise to that occasion was very special.”

Nkabinde said the goal for her team is to maintain the momentum they built up at the St Mary’s Waverley Festival. “We want to keep playing our brand of hockey and seek to secure a Fairtree Super 12 spot come the end of May, and enjoy the game to the fullest,” the coach elaborated.

If their performances in Johannesburg are anything to go by, St Mary’s DSG Kloof will stake a strong claim to being number one in KZN and South Africa this year.

Die Hoërskool Menlopark is eyeing the rest of the season with optimism. After a strong St Mary’s Waverley Festival campaign, coach Brad Brook’s side has returned home buoyed.

The Pretoria school did not go as far as they would have liked. However, in an elite 32-team field, they made the quarterfinals and were not dispirited by their run.

They finished top of Pool A, recording five wins in seven games, with one drawn and only one lost.

Then, having progressed to the Cup, Menlopark also finished in first place in Pool E, adding another two wins and one loss to the eventual runners-up, HMS Bloemhof, to their record.

Menlopark’s success was built upon their team-first principles. Brook said his side didn’t click and wasn’t as clinical as they would have liked in their first few matches at the festival but they overcame that by pulling together.

“We showed heaps of grit and character when things weren’t going our way. We managed to hold onto the ball for long periods of time and build phases, which is exciting. But, most of all, the way the team played for one another the deeper we got into the tournament impressed me the most,” Brook explained.

The coach’s team talks have revolved around sacrificing individual glory for the good of the team. His side internalised those teachings at the tournament and was able to make up for their shortcomings by pulling together at all times.

“I constantly tell them that individual goals are wonderful, but team goals are better. They give you a chance to win tournaments,” Brook elaborated.

Menlopark demonstrated dynamism and an ability to bounce back from setbacks, which drove their successes at the St Mary’s Waverley Festival. They’re taking that mindset and fighting spirit with them into the rest of their season.

“We contest a very competitive league with the likes of AHMP (Affies), Waterkloof, and Garsfontein, to name a few. So, winning the league again would be the first prize. We also would like to medal at the St Anne’s Tournament and hopefully qualify for the Fairtree Super 12 again,” Brook shared.

If they’re to achieve those lofty goals, the Menlopark girls can look back on their performances at the St Mary’s Waverley Festival and tap into the teamwork that brought them success. They already understand that it’s that all-for-one attitude that could help them achieve their ambitions.

St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, produced an outstanding performance on their way to lifting the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Festival trophy after beating HMS Bloemhof 1-0 in a thrilling final on Sunday.

“The team has just been fantastic in never giving up and working for each other. Everyone has played a part in the success,” Caryn Springate, the St Mary’s DSG Director of Hockey told Supersport Schools Plus ahead of the final.

St Mary’s DSG is now the fourth team after St Mary’s Waverley, Durban Girls’ College (DGC), and Oranje to lift the title three or more times. They previously won the tournament in 2007 and 2018.

The champions were drafted in Pool C along with Rhenish, who made the semi-finals, St Mary’s Waverley, St Cyprian’s, Clarendon, St Stithians, Pretoria High School for Girls, and Windhoek High. Coach Nolwazi Nkabinde‘s side won six of their seven matches and lost only one to proceed to stage two of the tournament.

Playing in Pool F in the second stage, tied with Bloemhof at the top of the pool on points. The eventual finalists drew 1-1 in their Pool F clash.

In the knockout matches, Nkabinde’s side prevailed over Paarl Gim in the quarterfinals and beat Eunice in a penalty shootout in the semifinals.

St Mary’s success was built around their teamwork. They connected well, stretching the opposition with good passing and movement. The ladies from KZN were particularly menacing down their right channel where Tayte Stewart and Jamie da Silva gave their opponents fits.

Nicola Forbes and company also did a good job of closing down space when not in possession. They pressed high and their goal in the final was a result of a turnover deep in Bloemhof’s territory.

After gaining possession, Jenna-Leigh Freese laid off a pass to Stewart who found Jamie da Silva on the edge of the circle. The St Mary’s DSG forward had four Bloemhof defenders around her but still managed to work her way into the D and uncork a strike into the back of the net.

The next 10 minutes saw Bloemhof fight hard to find an equaliser but the St Mary’s DSG defenders were equal to the task.

Springate was impressed by St Mary’s DSG’s collective hockey IQ. The KZN team is one of the youngest sides on the circuit, with only one player, their captain, Nicola Forbes, in grade 12. Their brilliant goalkeeper, Ziyanda Mchunu, who bailed them out of a few sticky situations is one of many Grade 10 learners in the side.

“We have had a lot of support from everyone back home: students and the staff at the school, parents, and former players,” Springate said.

Nicola Forbes and her teammates paid back that support with the prestigious St Mary’s Waverley Festival trophy.

St Mary’s DSG Kloof and HMS Bloemhof will face off for the title at the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Festival on Sunday afternoon.

St Mary’s defeated Eunice and Bloemhof downed Rhenish Girls’ High in the semifinals to punch their tickets to the showdown.

St Mary’s DSG has won the trophy on two previous occasions, 2007 and 2018, and will be looking to end their seven-year wait for a third title. Their opponents, on the other hand, have never won the St Mary’s Waverley Festival trophy and will be looking to make history.

In the first semi-final, St Mary’s DSG took on a spirited Eunice team in an entertaining clash in which they traded blows and made forays into each other’s halves without managing to breach the opposition’s defences.

That sent the contest into a penalty shootout and St Mary’s clinched a place in the title decider by a 2-0 margin.

Ziyanda Mchunu, the St Mary’s goalkeeper, emerged as the hero for the ladies from KwaZulu-Natal after pulling off two outstanding saves.

Nicola Forbes, the St Mary’s captain, struck with the first penalty, slotting past Christine Fouché, in the Eunice goal. Bianca Rees-Gibbs, the Eunice skipper, stepped up to the plate to take the first one for the Bloemfontein side but was denied by Mchunu.

Jamie da Silva, who has tormented defenders at the festival and who played an integral role in St Mary’s DSG’s victory in the semifinals, made no mistake with her team’s second effort to put them two goals clear.

Anebel Venter needed to convert her penalty to keep the contest alive, but her shot was kept out by a diving save from Mchunu.

The second semifinal, between Bloemhof and Rhenish, followed a similar script. The Stellenbosch rivals launched excursions into each other’s halves and showed great drive, but neither could find a goal as the defences kept up their outstanding form.

It was 0-0 at the end of the game, but Bloemhof won the shootout 3-1.

Elré Oosthuizen, the Bloemhof captain, led from the front and converted the first penalty for her side with little fuss.

Emeri Botes, then, exhibited sound technique to give Bloemhof the advantage when she saved Leah du Plessis’s effort.

Mari Steyn doubled Bloemhof’s lead with a brilliant feint before driving the ball beneath goalkeeper Jasmine Aitken to make it 2-0.

However, Grace Hobbs kept Rhenish in the contest with a lovely conversion of her penalty stroke, which placed pressure on Bloemhof’s Mari Boezaart. If she converted, her side would be through to the final.

Boezaart has been a top performer for Bloemhof throughout the festival with her mix of skill and power and she showed off both when she fired a rocket past the Rhenish goalkeeper for her side’s third and match-winning goal.

St Mary’s and Bloemhof have enjoyed good runs at the festival and seem to be peaking at the right time. Spectators can expect a humdinger in the final.

St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, has a date with Eunice High School in the semifinals of the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival. They go head-to-head at 10:50 in what promises to be a humdinger.

Eunice qualified for the semi-finals courtesy of goals from their captain, Bianca Rees-Gibbs, and Anebel Venter in a 2-0 win over Our Lady of Fatima in the last eight.

Coach Nika Coertzen‘s charges reached the quarterfinals after finishing second in Pool B, five points behind Bloemhof after scoring 11 and conceding two in the first stage.

Eunice, last year’s beaten finalist, appeared to lose their winning mojo in the cross-pool matches after a draw with St Cyprian’s and a loss to Rhenish. However, they did enough to move on to the quarterfinals.

“We changed our strategy today and the team bought into the plan and, most importantly, executed it well against Our Lady of Fatima,” Coertzen shared.

Eunice endured a tough start, but sometimes a bit of luck can turn things around and Coertzen’s side capitalised on those moments when fortune smiled on them by taking advantage of opportunities in key moments. That shifted the momentum in their favour.

Eunice‘s semifinal opponents are a familiar foe as they run into St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, at festivals and tournaments throughout the season. They know they’re up against a high-quality opponent.

Coach Nolwazi Nkabinde‘s side punched their ticket to the final four with a 2-1 win over Paarl Gim in the quarterfinals. It was a stern challenge and St Mary’s DSG rose to it.

Coach Danelle van Zyl’s Paarl Gim went 1-0 up only four minutes into the contest, courtesy of an outstanding solo effort from Alanda Rademeyer. She made a run from deep in the Paarl Gim half, shrugging off four attempted tackles before firing high and handsome into the back of the net.

St Mary’s responded immediately. Captain Nicola Forbes laid off a pass to Jamie da Silva at the halfway line and Da Silva dribbled her way into Paarl Gim’s circle, where she won a penalty corner. The push was a little off target, but Da Silva, the stopper, cleaned up well and fired off a powerful shot to level for the KZN girls.

Da Silva was Paarl Gim’s nemesis, continually challenging the defenders with her skilful attacking and tenacious tackling.

St Mary’s kept up the pressure and won a second short corner five minutes later. Like the first one, it was after a Da Silva move into the Paarl Gim D.

St Mary’s DSG kept it simple, Forbes received the pass and fired the shot at goal, but had her effort rejected by the Paarl Gim goalkeeper. However, Tayte Stewart, the injector, had moved to the near post and she latched onto the rebound to slot the ball into the goal.

The match was far from over as Paarl Gim battled to find an equaliser. The contest flowed back and forth, with both sides making forays into each other’s halves, but those efforts yielded no more goals and the match ended 2-1 to St Mary’s DSG.

Past matches between St Mary’s DSG and Eunice, both former winners of the St Mary’s Waverley Festival, have been entertaining. Thus, another thriller appears to be on the cards when they meet for an opportunity to play in the title game. There is everything to play for.

There will be at least one Stellenbosch side in the final at the 2024 Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival. Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof and their local rivals, Rhenish Girls’ High School will clash on Sunday morning with a place in the title game on Sunday afternoon on the line.

Rhenish reached the final after eliminating the defending champion, Durban Girls’ College (DGC) in the quarterfinals. The teams finished their match level at 0-0, but the Western Cape girls then won it 2-1 in a penalty shootout.

“I am proud of the girls. They did not let the big moment overwhelm them,” their proud coach Chris Gerber said after the match.

The Rhenish coach emphasised that his charges showed a lot of determination against a talented and skillful DGC team.

Rhenish’s defence has been outstanding all tournament. They didn’t concede a goal in their pool play and then conceded only one in the second stage. In all of those matches, Rhenish hardly needed their goalkeeper to step up. However, when they needed Jasmine Aitken, who has played over 150 matches for the 1st XI, to be a shot-stopper in the quarterfinals, she passed with flying colours.

“She is the embodiment of the spirit in the team. These girls love a big moment. She stepped up and saved the day,” Gerber commented.

Rhenish lifted the Fairtree Super 12 title in 2024 and will be looking to add the St Mary’s Waverley title to their cabinet. Unlike the other semi-finalists, Eunice and St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, neither Rhenish nor Bloemhof has previously won the St Mary’s Waverley Festival, so history beckons.

Bloemhof punched their ticket to the final four after beating Menlopark in the quarterfinals. Coach Jenny King‘s charges maintained an enviable and unbeaten record on their path to the semi-finals, winning seven of their 10 matches and drawing the other three. Like Rhenish, their defence has been stiff and their offence effective, They’ve surrendered only two goals and scored 17.

Two of those 17 came in their 2-0 win over Menlopark. The first one came seven minutes into the quarterfinal tie from Zani Boezaart, who found herself on the end of a Bloemhof move into the Menlopark D. She fired off a snapshot on goal, but her effort was blocked by the Menlopark goalkeeper. The rebound fell to her again, however, and Boezaart grabbed the chance with both hands, firing a reverse stick shot into the top of the net.

“The team played at an intensity that caught Menlopark out. We were very effective on the press, and [there was] excellent ball speed and transferring of the ball,” King said.

Nina Louw has enjoyed a good festival in front of goal. She has been on the scoresheet for Rhenish numerous times and she was on it in the quarterfinals, too. Around the halfway line, she forced a turnover and rolled the ball into Menlopark’s circle. Her first instinct was to look for a pass, but her attempt to lay off to another player was intercepted.

She fought for possession and regained it, played the ball into the circle, and executed an outstanding back-stick to slot the ball past the goalkeeper’s left foot. Menlopark tried to fight their way back but without success.

The mouthwatering semifinal tie between Bloemhof and Rhenish starts at 10:20 on Sunday morning.

Rhenish Girls’ High School has been following the process and sticking to their playing principles in Pool C at the annual Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival.

With a well-organised and stubborn defence, coach Chris Gerber’s side was the only team that did not concede a goal in the first stage of the tournament, which ended on Friday.

“We pride ourselves on our defensive ability and the girls did exceptionally well in that department,” Gerber said.

However, Rhenish hasn’t simply stonewalled teams. Gerber’s charges have also been outstanding in the opposition’s half, scoring 18 unanswered goals on their way to the top of Pool C. That left them with 19 points out of a possible 21, following six wins and a single draw.

The girlsfrom Stellenbosch arrived at the festival earmarked as one of the teams with the potential to lift the title and they lived up to the hype in the first stage.

“The ladies worked hard to get to this stage, and they are not letting the favourites’ tag drag them down,” Gerber said.

Rhenish beat Clarendon 3-0, St Cyprian’s 3-0, Windhoek High 2-0, St Mary’s DSG, Kloof 3-0, St Stithians 1-0, and Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG) 6-0. They drew 0-0 with the hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, on Thursday.

Gerber’s team’s title challenge continues on Saturday in Pool G. They have a date with Garsfontein at 09:25. Then, shortly before 13:00, they tackle Eunice.

St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, finished day one on top of the log in Pool C but relinquished first place to Rhenish after going down to the Western Cape side on Friday morning. Nonetheless, Nolwazi Nkabinde‘s team still confidently bagged second place.

After going down to Rhenish, they handed Pretoria High School for Girls a 3-0 defeat a few hours later. Nkabinde’s side was far from done and they finished pool play with a bang, smashing five unanswered goals past St Stithians to end with 18 points, just one behind the log leaders.

St Mary’s DSG will go up against St John’s DSG at 08:55 in their first Pool F fixture. At midday, they’ll take on Pool B’s table-toppers, Bloemhof.

The hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, rounded off the top three teams in Pool C after finishing with 14 points. They recorded four wins in seven games, with two draws and a loss. The draws and a loss came on Thursday. They didn’t drop any points on Friday.

In their first match of the day, they beat St Stithians 1-0. They followed that with a 5-0 drubbing of Windhoek High and then completed their pool schedule with a 2-1 win over Clarendon.

Their reward is a place in Pool F. They go up against Bloemhof at 08:30 on Saturday and St John’s DSG at 12:55.

RESULTS

Rhenish 2-0 Windhoek
St Stithians 0-0 St Cyprian’s
Rhenish 3-0 St Mary’s DSG, Kloof
St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI 1-0 St Stithians
St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI 5-0 Windhoek
Clarendon 3-0 Windhoek High
St Cyprian’s 4-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
St Mary’s DSG, Kloof 3-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
Rhenish 6-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
St Cyprian’s 3-0 Windhoek High
St Cyprian’s 5-0 Clarendon
Rhenish 1-0 St Stithians

Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof didn’t miss a beat on their march to the summit of Pool B after the second day of action at the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival.

Coach Jenny King’s side added two wins and a draw to their lot from day one to finish the first stage undefeated.

Zani Boezaart found the back of the net for the Capetonians in their 1-0 win over Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (Affies) in their first match on Friday morning. King’s charges followed that up with a 3-0 victory over Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High a few hours later, with Simone van der Merwe scoring a brace and Daniela Viljoen also striking.

“Our performances were clinical. However, the real test was our match against Eunice. I don’t feel our defence had been really tested,” King said. Eunice, though, tested both their defence and intensity in that key encounter.

King’s charges went toe-to-toe with Coach Nika Coertzen‘s side. There was little to separate the sides and, at the end of the match, they remained deadlocked at 0-0.

Their performance against Eunice left King optimistic that Bloemhof will be able to handle anything their opposition throws at them in the next round.

“I am quite confident that the girls can rise to the occasion. We just need to play a little bit more ball in the opposition half in those tough matches and make use of our chances. We have to keep it simple, keep moving the ball, get the ball down the sides of the field away from the central players/defenders,” King explained.

Bloemhof will be in Pool F in stage two of the festival. They have a contest against St Mary’s Waverley lined up at 08:30 and a blockbuster against St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, at 12:00.

Eunice finished with five points less than Bloemhof. They incurred a single loss at the hands of St John’s DSG on Thursday afternoon. Coertzen’s side, however, ensured that was their only pool stage loss. They convincingly won two of their three Friday encounters, overcoming Affies 1-0 and St Andrew’s School for Girls 2-0.

Eunice moves on to Pool G where a contest against St Cyprian’s at 09:50 awaits, followed by a game against Rhenish at 12:55.

Garsfontein, St John’s DSG, and Affies all finished with 11 points, tied for third place after each won three matches, drew two, and lost two. They were separated by goal difference.

Garsfontein took third with a positive goal difference of five after scoring 11 goals and conceding six. St John’s placed fourth, having scored seven and given up four, while Affies, in fifth, scored only three times while conceding just one goal

Garsfontein’s reward is a place in Pool G with Eunice. They tackle Rhenish at 09:25 and will also cross swords with St Cyprian’s at 13:20.

RESULTS

Affies 1-0 Roedean
Bloemhof 1-0 Affies
Garsfontein 4-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
St John’s DSG 3-0 Roedean
Eunice 2-0 St Andrew’s
Bloemhof 3-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
Eunice 1-0 Affies
Roedean 2-1 St Andrew’s
Garsfontein 2-1 St John’s DSG
St Andrew’s 0-0 St John’s DSG
Bloemhof 0-0 Eunice

St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, kept four clean sheets and won all four of their games on their way to the summit of Pool C on the first day of action at the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival on Thursday.

The prestigious hockey extravaganza features 32 of the best teams in South Africa and runs through until Sunday.

Rhenish and St Stithians College for Girls are in second and third place respectively, with seven and six points. However, unlike St Mary’s DSG, they have each played three games.

Coach Nolwazi Nkabinde‘s St Mary’s side was solid in defence and a menace when on the attack.

The KwaZulu-Natal team rocketed to a 5-0 victory over Windhoek High in their first match of the festival. Four hours later, they subjected Clarendon to a second loss of the day, beating the East London side 1-0.

St Cyprian’s began their campaign with a 0-3 loss at the hands of Rhenish. Matters did not get much better for them because they ran into an on-fire St Mary’s DSG in their second encounter. Nkabinde’s charges slotted two goals without a reply to claim their third win.

The ladies from Kloof rounded off an outstanding day with a 1-0 win over the hosts, St Mary’s Waverley.

Rhenish, like St Mary’s DSG, kept a clean sheet in each of their matches. However, unlike the KZN girls, they didn’t claim a 100 percent record. The Stellenbosch school outplayed Clarendon 3-0 and followed that with another 3-0 victory over St Cyprian’s. In their last match, though, they were held to a 0-0 draw by St Mary’s Waverley.

St Stithians registered two wins and a loss on their way to third place in the pool at the close of day one. They won 1-0 against Pretoria High School for Girls, breezed past Windhoek High 2-0, and then lost to Clarendon in the late afternoon.

The hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, recorded all three possible results. They began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against St Cyprian’s. Then, they gathered steam and rolled to a 3-0 victory over Pretoria High School for Girls. In their last outing, against the table toppers, St Mary’s DSG, they fell to the ladies from KZN in a tight contest.

Windhoek High will be seeking redemption after a tough first day when they run out onto the pitch on Friday morning. They have a tough assignment against Rhenish in the first of Pool C matches. St Stithians, who will be aiming to keep pace with the leaders, will take St Cyprian’s at the same time.

RESULTS

Pool C

St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI 1-1 St Cyprian’s
St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, 5-0 Windhoek
Rhenish 3-0 Clarendon
St Stithians 1-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI 3-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
Rhenish 3-0 St Cyprian’s
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 1-0 Clarendon
St Stithians 2-0 Windhoek High
St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI 0-0 Rhenish
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 2-0 St Cyprian’s
Windhoek 0-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
Clarendon 1-0 St Stithians
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 1-0 St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI

Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof breezed through the first day of the Standard Bank St Mary’s Waverley Festival, winning four out of four games, to finish Thursday on top of Pool B.

The hockey extravaganza features 32 teams and runs through until Sunday.

Coach Jenny King‘s charges achieved a maximum haul of 12 points, while the next best teams, Eunice and St John’s DSG, are tied on seven points, but Eunice had a superior goal difference and sits in second place.

From their first fixture, against Roedean, Bloemhof made their intentions clear with a 5-0 rout. Liela van Zyl led the scoring with a brace and Marie Steyn, Bella Visser, and Elré Oosthuizen added a goal each.

The Stellenbosch side found St John’s DSG to be a far tougher challenge, but they came away with a 1-0 win, courtesy of a strike from Daniela Viljoen. Nina Louw‘s solitary goal then clinched victory for them when they faced Garsfontein in the afternoon.

The decline in goal output did not point to Bloemhof engaging autopilot in their successive 1-0 victories. King said her players maintained high energy and intensity levels in all of their matches. They matched that with smooth transfers through the midfield and connections down the flanks.

That consistency led them to a 3-1 win over St Andrew’s School for Girls in their last encounter of the day. Liela van Zyl struck twice, and Nina Louw added a third in the victory.

Eunice had as bright a start as Bloemhof, romping to a 4-0 win over Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School. They followed up with a 4-1 victory over Roedean before they stumbled against St John’s DSG, going down 0-1. Coach Nika Coertzen‘s charges, then, finished the day with a goalless draw against Garsfontein.

St John’s DSG began with a 0-0 draw against Affies. The ladies from Pietermaritzburg followed that up with a 0-1 loss to the log leaders, Bloemhof in the mid-morning. St John’s needed a victory, and they picked up an important one with a 1-0 defeat of Eunice. In their last match of the day, they faced a familiar foe, their city rivals, Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High, and triumphed 2-0.

Bloemhof will seek to continue their great run when they go up against Affies on Friday morning. St John’s has an assignment against Roedean and Eunice will face off with St Andrew’s as the race for the honours in Pool B heats up.

RESULTS

Pool B

St Andrew’s 2-2 Garsfontein
St John’s DSG 0-0 Affies
Bloemhof 5-0 Roedean
Eunice 4-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
Affies 1-0 Garsfontein
Bloemhof 1-0 St John’s DSG
Eunice 4-1 Roedean
St Andrew’s School for Girls 2-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
Bloemhof 1-0 Garsfontein
St John’s DSG 1-0 Eunice
Affies 0-0 St Andrew’s School for Girls
Roedean 0-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High
Bloemhof 3-1 St Andrew’s
Eunice 0-0 Garsfontein
St John’s 2-0 Pietermaritzburg Girls