Author: cschiwanza

Eunice and Durban Girls College will meet in the final of the St Mary’s Hockey Festival after overcoming their opponents in two thrilling semi-final matches. The match between the defending champions and last year’s number seven team will be a rematch of Saturday’s match that saw DGC triumph over Eunice 4 – 0.

Eunice will hope that they have banished that encounter out of their memories and will walk into the tie with a different mindset, while DGC will hope to reprise the nightmare.

Eunice booked their spot in the final after overcoming Paarl Gim in an edge-of-the-seat semi-final tie that could easily have served as the final. The two teams looked a little nervy in the first few minutes. The frenetic running and passing gave way to a composed contest after Bianca Rees-Gibbs scored the opener for Eunice five minutes into the match.

Both teams showed why they had made it this far with a display of organised gameplay and great structure as they felt each other out, trying to find weaknesses in the other. In their previous matches, each time Ian Naude’s charges made trips into the opposition half, they put teams under pressure with good passes, but against Eunice, they failed to connect in the final third.

Eunice’s star player, Rees-Gibbs almost made it 2 – 0 for her side when she went on a high press and stole the ball from a Paarl Gim defender close to the edge of the D. Her shot at goal beat the goalkeeper and defender but hit the post before trickling out.

Paarl Gim ramped up their attack in the last 11 minutes of the match, throwing bodies into the Eunice half. Their relentless attacking paid off when they scored the equalizer with a minute to go. As the crowd settled down and Paarl Gim threw players behind the ball in defense, Nika Coertzen’s unit launched one last attack. Favouring their right-hand side attack, Eunice fed the ball to Rees-Gibbs, who furthered her campaign for the Player of the Tournament honours with a second goal for her team with 20 seconds remaining in the match.

Durban Girls College made it to the final thanks to some sensational goalkeeping efforts from Ella Carstens. The DGC keeper, who developed her skills in backyard battles against her older brother, Jake Carstens who played for Hilton College two years ago stood tall in DGC’s semi-final tie against St Stithians.

The Johannesburg team took control of the contest early on, dominating possession and attacking the DGC goal, making numerous circle entries, with intent. In the moments the DGC defense lacked, Saints ran into a wall erected by Carstens.

Lance Louw’s charges came into the tie having done their research and marked DGC captain Emily Macquet out of the tie. With Macquet immobilized, DGC struggled to put Saints under pressure. In the moments that they entered the Saints’ final third, they were met with a strong defense.

Chardonay Penniston’s team almost found themselves 1 – 0 down with seven minutes left on the clock, but again, Carstens was equal to the task. That effort from Tori Tanner-Ellis was followed by a period of relentless attacking from Saints, but DGC was equal to the task, and the match ended in a 0 – 0 draw.

Unlike most other matches that went straight to penalty shootouts after finishing in a draw, the semi-final tie between Saints and DGC went into extra-time, with the glory goal stipulation. DGC started the five-minute period strongly, keeping Saints on the back foot, but found the Saints defense impregnable. Not even the ejection of a Saints player with just under two minutes to go weakened their defense.

The match went to penalty shootouts where DGC won by 4 – 3, courtesy of a penalty that had to be retaken after a back stick from the St Stithians goalkeeper on the final shootout.

Durban Girls’ College (DGC) and Eunice dominated Pool E on day three of the St Mary’s Hockey Festival to move on to the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament.

They were the dominant forces in Pool A and Pool B respectively on the first two days of the event, and they kept up their momentum as they motored their way into the final four.

In the semi-finals, DGC takes on St Stithians, while Eunice will fight it out with Paarl Gim.

On Saturday, DGC achieved what no other team had been able to do over the course of the first three days. They beat Eunice. If anyone was going to beat the Bloemfontein girls, however, it was going to be DGC, the team which had scored the most goals in the festival.

The defending champions had enjoyed a nine-match unbeaten run, winning seven and drawing two matches, during which they scored 27 goals and conceded just seven. Besides St Anne’s, no team had scored two or more goals against Eunice. Then they met DGC in their last match of the day on Saturday.

In a stunning display, coach Chardinay Penniston’s girls fired four goals past the defending champions, without reply, to emphatically lay claim to the top spot in Pool E, with Cara Baker, Emily Macquet, Ruby Kraus and Chelsey Woolf getting their names on the scoresheet.

Heading into that match, Eunice and DGC were level on points, and the result of the showdown would determine who finished first and who finished second in the pool.

Last year, DGC finished seventh at the St Mary’s Hockey Festival. This year, Penniston’s charges were determined to improve on that showing.

However, their performance at the recent DSG Festival did not suggest that they could dominate at this level. That was because Penniston was building a new team.

“I think the progression of this group has been a little slow, compared to last year,” Penniston said candidly. “But, having said that, this group’s development has been more meaningful. They are developing consistency the more they play together.”

Several of her players have exhibited moments of brilliance on the astro, like goalkeeper Ella Carstens, who stood tall and was an impregnable wall against an attacking Bloemhof earlier in the day. Her heroics helped DGC to a 2-0 win.

“They rely on each other and pull together as a team,” said Penniston.

DGC captain Emily Macquet and her teammates are happy and proud to have performed better than they did last year, but they did not come this far only to make it this far. They are hungry and determined to achieve more. They’re now focussed on outplaying Lance Louw’s Saints for a place in the title-decider.

Most teams retreat and focus on defence after Eunice registers a first goal because, once they get going, the Bloemfontein side rarely stops scoring.

Under Nika Coertzen’s guidance, the Bloemfontein school has run riot and scored the second-most goals at the festival this year. However, when they faced St Anne’s, the girls from Hilton chose a different approach. They decided to fight fire with fire.

St Anne’s, now coached by long-time Oranje coach Morne Odendaal, went 0-1 down to a goal by Bianca Rees-Gibbs. However, their positive approach was rewarded with a goal with 12 minutes left on the clock.

But Eunice skipper Trusten Barnard and her teammates were not about to settle for a draw, and they responded almost immediately with a spectacular Bianca Rees-Gibbs’ goal, which was good enough to grace any highlights’ reel.

Again, St Anne’s responded with an attack on the Eunice goal.

Coertzen had focussed on fortifying her side’s defence this season and before the clash with St Anne’s, Eunice had scored 22 goals and conceded only four. But their watertight defence was unable to stop Ella Shuttleworth, who fired in a brilliant individual goal to level matters.

Rees-Gibbs and Eunice were not about to be denied victory, though. She showed why she was a member of the South African u16 team last year, netting her hat-trick goal to win the contest.

Next up, though, Coertzen’s charges will have to dust themselves off and put their loss to DGC behind them as they prepare to meet an in-form Paarl Gim – a team that has shown it is as good on defence as it is on attack – for a place in the final.

Pool E Results

Eunice 3-1 Menlopark, Bloemhof 0-2 Durban Girls’ College, Affies 0-0 St Anne’s, Eunice 3-2 St Anne’s, Bloemhof 1-2 Menlopark, Affies 0-0 DGC, Bloemhof 1-1 St Anne’s, Affies 0-1 Menlopark, Eunice 0-4 DGC

Paarl Gim and St Stithians put together outstanding performances on day three of the St Mary’s Hockey Festival to top Pool F and book themselves places in the semifinals.

In the semis, Paarl Gim will go up against Pool E runners-up and defending champions, Eunice, and Saints will go head-to-head with Pool E table-toppers, Durban Girls’ College.

Paarl Gim was the first team in Pool F to punch their ticket to the semi-finals.

Ian Naudé’s team headed into their match against Rhenish on the back of a 2-0 win over Waterkloof and a 1-1 draw with Oranje, a tie in which they were rescued by a late Tanya Pieterse goal that saved the day. A draw with Rhenish would seem them through.

“We are going in looking for a win. We are building a winning culture within the team, and we won’t shoot for anything less, even though a draw can see us through,” Naudé shared with Supersport Schools Plus moments before their showdown with Rhenish.

But the Stellenbosch girls were not going to be pushovers. Chris Gerber’s team was one of the most fluent outfits of the festival, showing off impeccable ball movement when in possession. Despite being a young team, with only one matric in the side, Rhenish had also exhibited admirable mental strength throughout the St Mary’s Festival.

“I am proud of how this team has shown up. They are a young side, enjoying the festival, but they are also mentally tough. They have the ability to dig deep when it matters the most,” Gerber told Supersport Schools Plus.

If Gim was to win, Naudé knew he had to try something special to get one over their familiar opponents. This was a Boland-Cape Town derby being played in Johannesburg.

The Bolanders altered their positioning slightly. It worked. By changing their channels of attack, Paarl Gim created more space for their strikers to exploit.

“Playing against Rhenish is always hard, but our girls are well-conditioned and have a hunger to be number one in the tournament. So, they were very composed. They passed well and retained possession well,” Naudé said.

Those adjustments and their hungry approach earned Paarl Gim a hard-fought 1-0 win and lifted them to the top of the pool.

St Stithians, the other team from Pool F to book a semi-final slot, started slowly. They finished third in Pool D after posting three wins, three draws and a loss to Paarl Gim.

Their start to the St Mary’s Festival was not all that different from their start to the season. Lance Louw’s charges did not dominate at the Balling Festival earlier in the year.

Among the teams they lost to at the Balling Festival was Oranje, who overwhelmed Saints 10-0. When the two sides again on Saturday, Saints didn’t just have an opportunity to avenge their heavy defeat in Bethlehem, they were also in a must-win situation.

A victory for the Johannesburg side would put them in a position to open up the table and give themselves room to compete for one of the top two spots.

In his pre-game team talks, Louw stresses teamwork, “So that, if the opposition marks one player out, everyone else is still able to rally and keep the team in the game. Our focus is always on us, not I,” he explained.

Reabitswe Mpume was, however, in sensational form for Saints and Oranje was unable to diminish her influence on the contest, no matter what they tried. She controlled play in the middle of the field, seeing to it that Gyster van Schalkwyk’s charges could not freely make excursions into the St Stithians’ final quarter.

Mpume’s outstanding performance was spurred on by Ashley Lanham-Love’s industrious runs and work rate. “Ashley had an outstanding day today. She was exceptionally consistent and made all the running to open things up,” said Louw.

Saints’ hard work was rewarded with a goal, scored by Mpume. It was a result of perfectly timed dummy runs and passes after Saints had won a short corner.

Buoyed by their 1-0 victory over Oranje, Saints battled to a 0-0 draw against a well-oiled Rhenish side and then pulled off a 1-0 win over Waterkloof to set themselves up for a shot at the final.

On Sunday, Saint takes on Durban Girls’ College in a must-watch semi-final tie.

Pool F Results

Oranje 0-1 St Stithians, Rhenish 2-2 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), Waterkloof 0-2 Paarl Gim, Oranje 1-1 Paarl Gim, Rhenish 0-0 St Stithians, Waterkloof 0-2 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), Waterkloof 0-1 St Stithians, Rhenish 0-1 Paarl Gim, Oranje 1-0 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof)

Pool A’s top teams, Eunice and Bloemhof, qualified for the next round of the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival without losing a single match, a feat managed by only two other teams in the tournament.

They finished pool play tied on 19 points and were separated only by goal difference.

In the next round, they will be grouped together with the top three teams from Pool B in a new group, Pool E. It is here that they will battle it out in the hope of continuing on along the path to the final.

Eunice is hoping to reach and win back-to-back titles. If they made it that far, it would be their third St Mary’s Festival triumph. Bloemhof, on the other hand, will be hoping to chart a path to their maiden St Mary’s Festival trophy.

Heading into their last pool match, Eunice was guaranteed a top-three slot, with five wins and a draw from six games. Herschel, their opponent in that game, needed a win for direct qualification, and to avoid having to depend on others’ results to advance, to the top 12. A draw would have left them in a tricky situation, hoping that Affies lost their last match against Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG).

When Eunice took on PHSG, who had struggled in their previous matches, coach Nika Coertzen gave some of her younger players a chance to accumulate more meaningful playing time. They showed as much fight and hunger as the regular starters and helped bump up the team’s goal difference.

The Trusten Barnard-captained side walloped PHSG 6-0, which was the biggest margin of defeat the Pretoria side had suffered at the festival. Their previous worst loss was 0-5 against Bloemhof, on day one.

If the game against PHSG was a cakewalk, their contest against Clarendon was a gauntlet. Luwan Sedras’ charges were well prepared for Eunice, and they gave them a good run for their money.

“We didn’t execute the gameplan well against Clarendon. It was a tough game. But it was a good learning experience,” said Coertzen after her team had picked up a 2-1 win.

That battle against Clarendon solidified their resolve and they were determined maintain their unbeaten record against Herschel, who were in a must-win situation. Stacey-Lee Gedult’s charges took the fight to Eunice on Friday evening in a thrilling contest, but at the end it was Eunice who had held off Herschel 2-1.

“We are taking things a game at a time,” Coertzen said, choosing not to delve too much into her side’s undefeated run at the tournament.

After day two, five teams remained unbeaten. One of those sides was Bloemhof.

Coach Jenny King‘s charges have controlled opposition teams with distinction. Nothing about the way they have played has betrayed the fact they had a shorter pre-season than most of their opponents at the festival.

Their run of six wins and a draw, scoring 14 goals without conceding one, tells the story of a well-oiled unit. They had three games on Friday, against Clarendon, DF Malan, and Roedean. Bloemhof scored five unanswered goals. “We are taking it a game at a time,” reckoned King.

Affies headed into Friday’s schedule in need of some victories to keep their hopes of a top-12 finish alive. The previous day, they had won one, lost one, and drawn one. On Friday, the Nicolene Terblanche-coached side appeared revitalised. They trumped Clarendon 1-0 in their first outing and then played to a 0-0 draw with DF Malan.

Maricha van Greunen and her team needed another win and for Bloemhof to overcome Herschel. The stars aligned. They achieved the victory they required and Bloemhof defeated Herschel 2-1.

In their new group, Pool E, Eunice, Bloemhof and Affies will be joined by Pool B table-toppers Durban Girls’ College, St Anne’s and Menlopark.

Pool A Results

Roedean 1-1 PHSG, Affies 1-0 Clarendon, Bloemhof 1-0 Clarendon, Eunice 6-0 PHSG, Affies 0-0 DF Malan, Roedean 0-2 Herschel, DF Malan 0-1 Herschel, Roedean 0-1 Affies, Eunice 2-1 Clarendon, Bloemhof 2-0 DF Malan, PHSG 0-1 Herschel, Bloemhof 2-0 Roedean, Clarendon 0-0 DF Malan, Affies 1-0 PHSG, Eunice 2-1 Herschel

Paarl Gim, St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), and St Stithians claimed the top three places in Pool D to qualify for the next round of competition in the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival in Johannesburg on Friday.

In the next round, they will be grouped together with, and compete against, the top three teams from Pool C in a new group, Pool F.

Paarl Gim was the first team to secure their participation in the next round. Coach Ian Naudé’s side prepared well for the event, playing in two pre-season tournaments, and that paid dividends as they won five and drew two of their seven Pool D matches.

“We have been playing good hockey so far,” Naudé said. “I think the only area we need to improve on is converting our chances in the last 25. But I am not worried about that because this is something that the girls can pick up as the festival progresses.”

More than anything, Naudé is impressed by the work ethic his charges bring to the turf in each contest. “They are really hard-working and have a tendency to step up when the going gets tough,” he said.

An example of how they can step up was visible in their contest against table-toppers St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) in a battle of the high-flying teams that ended in a 1-1 draw.

Carla Ann Mackay’s St Mary’s team headed into the festival determined to perform better than they did in 2023. “Last year, we finished 13^th and won the Plate section. Coming up to this tournament, we have been prepping very hard. We have big goals set for this year,” Mackay shared with Supersport Schools Plus on day one.

St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), led by Georgia Pollock, the daughter of South African cricketing legend Shaun Pollock, showed their intentions from their first match, in which they ran over St Cyprian’s 4-0. They played an attacking brand of hockey that limited the opposition’s contact with the ball and that ball possession has enabled them to dominate games.

The KZN side began day two with one foot in the top three after registering two wins and a draw on Thursday. They appeared unstoppable as they rammed home nine goals and conceded only one against Pearson, Collegiate, and the St Mary’s Festival XI. Their toughest opponent on day two was Paarl Gim, the other undefeated team from Pool D.

“We have been improving in all areas and have really done well in converting our chances to goals. All the girls have stepped up, but special mention must be made of Nicola Forbes and Sibabalwe Mfaweza, who have really had a stellar tournament thus far,” said Mackay.

St Stithians had mixed results on day one and it took Lance Louw’s charges a while to find their feet.

Their preparations were hamstrung by the unavailability of multi-code players with summer sports commitments. When they attended the DSG-hosted festival in KwaZulu-Natal, they did not have the services of Nonjabulo Biyam, Reabetswe Phume and Tori Tanner-Ellis, among others, and their results reflected that.

The St Mary’s Festival is the first time that Louw has had a full-strength squad at his disposal and Saints’ results have improved. They finished Pool D play with three wins, three draws, and a single loss. And while they did not score as many goals as Paarl Gim and St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), they conceded only two, which was a testament to their solid defence.

“We put a lot of emphasis on our defence and also our midfielders. Two of our defenders are matric girls and two of our midfielders are matric girls. But on the flip side of that, we have two u16 girls on the outside in both midfield and defence. So, we’re building for the future as well as playing in the present,” Louw explained.

In their new group, Pool F, Paarl Gim, DSG Kloof, and St Stithians will be joined by Oranje, Rhenish, and either Garsfontein or Waterkloof.

Pool D Results

Collegiate 0-0 St Cyprian’s, Pearson 0-3 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), St Mary’s Festival XI 0-3 St Stithians, Our Lady of Fatima 1-2 Paarl Gim, Collegiate 1-3 St Mary’s DSG (Kloof), Pearson 0-1 Paarl Gim, St Cyprian’s 1-1 St Stithians, St Mary’s Festival XI 0-1 Our Lady of Fatima, St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) 1-1 Paarl Gim, Collegiate 0-0 St Stithians, St Cyprian’s 1-0 Our Lady of Fatima, St Cyprian’s 0-0 Pearson, St Stithians 3-0 Our Lady of Fatima, Collegiate 0-0 Paarl Gim, St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) 3-0 St Mary’s Festival XI

Paarl Gimnasium was one of the two teams that remained unbeaten in Pool D at the end of the first day of action at the St Mary’s Hockey Festival in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The Tanya Pieterse-captained outfit enjoyed a good start to their St Mary’s Festival campaign with a victory against the St Mary’s Festival XI, whom they brushed aside 3-0. The Festival XI was an unfamiliar foe and coach Ian Naude’s team had to think on their feet and adapt to the challenge, which they did well.

Their second match, against St Cyprian’s, was against opposition they knew well, and they planned accordingly. “We have played them before, a team from Cape Town, so we kind of knew what to expect. They are very attacking, and we sat back and sucked them in and went on the counterattack,” said Naude.

The plan worked a treat and Paarl Gim finished the match with a 2-0 win.

Naude and his team prepared well for the festival. They participated in two pre-tournament events which had a similar format to the St Mary’s Festival. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for the Paarl team, with their preparations being hampered by injuries to key players, including Pieterse, who represented the SA u17 team at the Dato Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia late last year.

Paarl Gim’s ability to pull together as a team and be clinical with their passes belied the difficulties they had faced in the lead-up to the festival. Pieterse returned from injury and despite missing out on the pre-festival events, she marshalled the midfield with admirable aplomb. Their only weakness was in converting the chances they created. “Against St Cyprians, we created 10 chances and converted only a two. We need to do better in that part of our game,” Naude reckoned.

In their last game of the day, they needed to convert only one chance to claim victory over St Stithians, and that is what they did.

St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, was the other unbeaten team in Pool D. However, unlike Paarl Gim, their record wasn’t all wins. They drew 0-0 against Lance Louw‘s St Stithians. But that was preceded by a 4-0 success against St Cyprian’s in which St Mary’s showed off an attacking brand of hockey.

The team from Kloof has yet to concede a goal in the festival, so far, and that is because of their solid defensive structure. That excellent defending helped them maintain clean sheets against St Stithians and Our Lady Fatima, whom they played later in the day, winning 1-0.

“Our biggest flaw is that sometimes we dip in standards. I hope the girls play to their potential the whole tournament,” coach Carla Ann Mackay said.

It is a handicap that Mackay hopes her charges will overcome as the festival progresses. Last year, St Mary’s finished 13th and won the Plate section. Mackay and her girls are aiming higher than that.

Day two of Pool D action will kick off with a tie between Collegiate and St Cyprian’s. Fourth-placed Collegiate will be keen to improve on their one win, one draw, and one loss record from day one, while St Cyprian’s will want to improve their goal difference and add a second win of the festival.

Pool D Results

Collegiate 0-1 Fatima, Paarl Gim 3-0 St Mary’s Festival XI, St Stithians 1-0 Pearson, St Mary’s, Kloof, 4-0 St Cyprian’s, Collegiate 1-0 St Mary’s Festival XI, Fatima 0-1 Pearson, Paarl Gim 2-0 St Cyprian’s, St Stithians 0-0 St Mary’s, Kloof, Collegiate 0-0 Pearson, St Mary’s Festival XI 0-2 St Cyprian’s, Fatima 0-1 St Mary’s, Kloof, Pearson 2-0 St Mary’s Festival XI, Paarl Gim 1-0 St Stithians.

Eunice and Bloemhof were in brilliant form on day one of the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival. The two sides were unbeaten and are tied at the top of Pool A and are only separated by goal difference after Thursday’s action in Johannesburg.

The 32-team hockey extravaganza is in its 24^th year, after taking off with a mere 12 teams in 2000.

Spectators were treated to a thriller befitting a final when Eunice and Bloemhof faced off on the Nathan Field in the last Pool A match of the day.

Heading into the match, coach Jenny King‘s girls had pulled off three convincing victories against Pretoria High School for Girls, Herschel, and Afrikaanse Höer Meisieskool (Affies), scoring nine goals without reply in those wins.

Bloemhof’s performances belied the short preseason King had with her team, “Being an athletic school, they had a shorter preseason, and we had to try to get the basics in place in a short period,” she said.

Coach Nika Coertzen, on the other hand, has an inexperienced side on her hands. Eunice lost many players from their successful 2023 team that won the St Mary’s Festival and finished the year ranked number one in the country. This season, her team is made up of three grade 12s, three grade 9s, and five grade 10s. Half of those players are u16.

They had endured a few tough outings before the St Mary’s Festival. “Our first festival was difficult, but I understood that the girls needed time to adjust. There is a huge difference between u14 and u18 hockey. We’ve had 12 pre-season games, which I think gave them confidence that they can compete,” said Coertzen.

That confidence showed in how they dealt with high-pressure moments throughout the day. Eunice scored nine goals against DF Malan, Affies, and Roedean and conceded only one to DF Malan.

In their match against a Bloemhof side in red-hot form, Eunice held their own, defending and attacking in equal measure. The blockbuster tie ended in a 0-0 draw.

“This tournament is about growth. It’s not about coming and winning. Of course, winning is great, but we want to try to use these 12 games to prepare for the rest of the season,” King explained while refusing to get carried away by her team’s strong showing on the first day.

Coertzen also had her feet firmly on the ground, preferring to see the bigger picture instead of celebrating too early. “My girls have a lot of ambition, determination and discipline, which makes things a little easier for a coach. Right now, we are in the building phase as a unit, but I’m excited about the next three years and what we will produce,” she reckoned.

Third-placed Clarendon also enjoyed a good showing on Thursday. Coach Luwan Sedras’ charges started the day with a 1-0 win over Roedean, which helped settle their nerves. They followed that victory with another 1-0 win, this time over Pretoria High School for Girls. Later in the day, they came up short against Herschel, going down 0-1.

While impressed by his players’ performances on day one, Sedras thinks his team has a bit of a distance to go before they are settled as a unit, especially since Clarendon lost all but one of their strikers from last year’s side.

His main focus, with the rest of his coaching unit, has been in converting midfielders into strikers. “Scoring wins you games. We can defend, we can control midfield, but we need to score goals. So, that has been our focus this year,” he said.

Sedras hopes that his charges will find the back of the net more in their next few games, particularly against the in-form duo of Eunice and Bloemhof, whom they meet on day two.

Pool A Results

Eunice 3-1 DF Malan, Clarendon 1-0 Roedean, PHSG 0-5 Bloemhof, Eunice 2-0 Affies, DF Malan 0-0 Roedean, Herschel 0-3 Bloemhof, Clarendon 1-0 PHSG, Eunice 4-0 Roedean, Affies 0-1 Bloemhof, DF Malan 2-0 PHSG, Herschel 1-0 Clarendon, Eunice 0-0 Bloemhof.

The road leads to St Mary’s Waverley, in Johannesburg, for 32 of the nation’s top hockey-playing girls’ schools, who will be contesting the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival from Thursday.

The hockey showcase was launched in 2000 with just 12 teams and has grown exponentially over the years to become, arguably, the most prestigious girls’ hockey event on the South African sporting calendar.

Forty-nine festival participants have gone on to represent South Africa, and another two have donned the colours of Namibia, on the international stage.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Defending champions Eunice heads into the festival hunting back-to-back titles. The Bloemfontein team will be looking to assert itself in Pool A, which also includes the inaugural champions, Pretoria High School for Girls.

The hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, have a point to prove in Pool B. They’re on the hunt for a sixth title, but last won it in 2011.

They won’t have things easy and will have to fight their way past, among others, DSG Makhanda, Paarl Girls’ High, high-flying St Anne’s, and St Mary’s DSG, Pretoria, also a previous winner.

Pool C is led by the seven-time champions Oranje. Since capturing the title for the first time in 2008, Oranje has been a dominant force. Between 2014 and 2017, they produced an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles. Another potential streak, between 2019 and 2022, was broken by Covid-19.

While Oranje was rampant in the Balling Hockey Festival and the Greg Beling Festival earlier this season, winning all of their games comfortably, another Greg Beling participant that shone was Rhenish, who are also in Pool C. They were convincing winners of all of their games, including a big 5-1 win over Eunice.

Fellow Pool C participants, Somerset College, this past weekend, lifted the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament title.

Meanwhile, Pool D is hard to call. Collegiate Girls’ High School opens their challenge for a place in the history books with an outing against Our Lady of Fatima DCS.

Paarl Gimnasium‘s quest begins against the St Mary’s Waverley Festival XI, while former finalists, St Stithians Girls College, go up against Pearson High School.

Later, Saints will face the two-time champions (2007 and 2018) St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.

The hosts’ co-captains, Tyla Gibbs and Amy Smith, have extended a welcome to all festival attendees, saying: “We, as the captains and players of St Mary’s School, are delighted to welcome teachers, coaches, parents, and, most importantly, players to our school.

“The St Mary’s Hockey Festival is, undoubtedly, the best tournament of the season! Each and every one of you has worked so hard to get to this point, so go out and make the most of this experience.”

Pool A: Eunice High School; Herschel Girls School; Clarendon High School for Girls; Pretoria High School for Girls;  Hoërskool Meisieskool Bloemhof; Roedean School (SA); Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, Pretoria; DF Malan.

Pool B: St Mary’s Waverley 1^st XI; Durban Girls’ College; Paarl Girls’ High School; Menlopark; The Wykeham Collegiate; Windhoek High School; St Anne’s Diocesan College; St Mary’s DSG, Pretoria.

Pool C: Oranje;  Hoërskool Garsfontein; Rhenish Girls’ High School; St John’s DSG; St Andrew’s School for Girls;  Hoërskool Waterkloof; Somerset College; Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School,

Pool D: Collegiate Girls’ High School; Paarl Gimnasium; St Stithians Girls College; St Mary’s DSG, Kloof; St Cyprian’s School; Pearson High School; St Mary’s Waverley Festival XI; Our Lady of Fatima.

Fixtures | Day 1 

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The final day of the King Edward VII Easter Festival ended on a high note, with a thrilling three-goal contest between Parktown Boys’ High and St Charles College on the Weinberg Astro.

Coach Matthew Coombe’s St Charles was making their debut at the annual event that has been running since 2002 and has been contested 20 times. The KwaZulu-Natal team came into the festival missing a couple of key players, including their captain, which impacted their campaign.

“But these things [festivals] are condensed, so we are learning a lot as well. We are probably better off than we would have been in previous years,” he shared on Saturday, after they had played Selborne College.

Though they showed moments of brilliance in their match against Selborne, it was a one-sided contest as the Amathole outfit maintained their unbeaten run through three festivals in three weeks.

When Saints faced Parktown two days later, they looked like a different outfit – less rusty and more attacking. Despite going 0-2 down to Kyle Reddy’s boys in the first half, St Charles took the fight to the Johannesburg side, pulled one goal back in the third chukka, and almost levelled the scores in the fourth chukka.

For their part, Parktown could have extended their lead, but they failed to convert a number of chances that they created. The action swung from one D to the other but, when it ended, it was 2-1 in favour of the local side.

The Parktown-St Charles match was one of seven matches played on Monday that were decided by one-goal margins.

Earlier in the day, the hosts, KES, bagged their second win of the festival, holding off Queen’s College 2-1. Like Sharmin Naidoo’s KES team, Michael Baiden’s Queen’s side also had a mixed campaign, where they lost, drew, and won some matches.

That match was followed by Kearsney’s 1-0 win over St John’s. Ashley Kemp’s charges began their KES Festival on a high note with back-to-back wins on Saturday, but had a difficult Easter Sunday, losing to the in-form Selborne and Grey College. They make the trip back to KZN with their heads held high after playing well in their last game.

Justin Collins’ Northwood assembled at the KES festival like the Avengers. Their first XI had not played a match as a complete unit in 2024. Therefore, they did not take their 1-2 loss to Selborne in their first match to heart.

They recovered and performed at a level of which they could be proud, winning two, drawing one, and then finishing their campaign with a 3-2 victory over an attacking and hard-running Waterkloof team.

Rondebosch had endured a tough pre-season, with several of their players missing because they were busy helping ‘Bosch to very successful cricket and water polo seasons. “Which meant that a few of our players picked up a hockey stick just last week,” said coach Waseem Domingo.

After running into an on-fire Grey College in their second match, Domingo’s charges registered back-to-back draws before finding their feet against Jeppe, whom they defeated 1-0.

Kyle Emerson travelled to Johannesburg with a young Maritzburg College team, which featured four u16 players and a few grade 11s, after his outfit had endured mixed results at the Nomads Festival. His goal was to keep building on the blocks the side had laid at Nomads, which College hosted.

If Maritzburg College’s campaign is an indicator, Emerson’s charges have been learning lessons and the improvement is clear to see. They might have lost their final encounter 0-1 to Wayne Coetzee’s Grey College, but they had a good campaign, scoring three wins, a draw and a single loss.

Grey College and Selborne were the dominant outfits. KJ Friend’s boys cruised through the Easter Festival without dropping a match, while Coetzee’s charges lost only dropped points when they drew 1 – 1 with Parktown.

And while Eldoraigne is on the opposite end of those two outstanding teams and did not register a win at the KES festival, they made an impression on all present, competing well and earning respect for their performances.

The four days of hockey action at KES was probably best summed up by Wayne Coetzee’s words on Saturday afternoon: “Hockey has become an attractive sport for the spectators, and I think the games on show are a good showcase for schoolboy hockey.”

Results

Selborne 4-1 Eldoraigne, Queen’s 1-2 KES, Kearsney 1-0 St John’s, Northwood 3-2 Waterkloof, Rondebosch 1-0 Jeppe, Grey College 1-0 Maritzburg College, Parktown 2–1 St Charles.

 

Parents, family, friends, schoolmates, and regular spectators who made their way to King Edward VII School (KES) on Easter Sunday were treated to top-drawer hockey on the third day of the annual KES Easter Festival.

The 20^th edition of the showcase kicked off on Thursday and will end on Monday.

KJ Friend’s Selborne College maintained their unbeaten run over the course of three festivals in three weeks with two wins on Sunday, shrugging off the challenges of Parktown Boys’ High and Kearsney College.

An equally outstanding Grey College also registered two wins, against Eldoraigne and Kearsney.

Rondebosch Boys’ High went up against KZN’s Maritzburg College and Northwood School and walked away from both encounters with draws in low-scoring thrillers.

St John’s College gathered momentum with an emphatic 3-1 win over St Charles College. “We have certainly managed to improve from day one. Yesterday, we lost to Northwood towards the end of the game and the lessons learned there helped us for our next game. We improved our game management and managing the tempo of the play,” said St John’s coach Gilbert de Villiers.

However, one of the big stories of the festival has been the achievements and growth of Hoërskool Eldoraigne. The boys from Pretoria have shown that they are not attending the event to make up the numbers.

When Stefan Coertzen took over the head coach’s position at Eldoraigne, their hockey programme was in infancy. Two years later, they are gathering momentum, developing 14-year-olds with limited skill and experience into decent 16- and 17-year-olds.

In past years, opposition teams made a habit of scoring plenty of goals against them. That is no longer the case. Coertzen has taken steps to fortify their defensive play.

On day one of the festival, Eldoraigne conceded four goals against Parktown but recovered to minimise the damage, conceding only two goals against Jeppe.

“Coming from a school that is still developing our hockey structures, we have not been too bad. I think our defensive effort has been good, especially in our first and second games. Our scoreline against Jeppe will be a good confidence boost for my boys. They were used to taking a lot of goals,” Coertzen told Supersport Schools Plus on Saturday.

After those games, Coertzen’s sought to find a way to help his charges shift to a more offensive brand of play to make them more competitive. “Just defending the whole time, the dam wall will break. Obviously, they will get through our lines and score. We can’t just defend for the whole of the game,” he said.

On Sunday morning, Eldoraigne attacked and scored their first non-consolation goal of the festival in a 1-3 loss to an in-form Grey College team. They didn’t park the bus. Rather, they played with the drive to compete.

When they went head-to-head with KES, Eldoraigne showed more intent and attacked from the start. Coertzen’s boys were on the scoreboard first but then reverted to type after KES’s equaliser in the second half.

They were holding on for dear life when the hosts made it 2-1 in the third chukka but rediscovered their spark in the fourth quarter. Instead of playing to limit the number of goals against them, they fought to equalise. KES repelled all their efforts.

Eldoraigne’s newfound confidence and attacking brand of play will be tested on Monday morning when they face a rampant, defensively sound, and attacking Selborne College in the first match of the day. An enticing schedule of thrilling high-quality hockey will be finished off by a contest between St Charles and Parktown.

Results

Jeppe 2-0 St Charles, Rondebosch 1-1 Maritzburg College, Selborne 3 -1 Parktown, KES 1-4 Northwood, Waterkloof 2-1 Queen’s College, Grey College 3-1 Eldoraigne, St John’s 3-1 St Charles, Selborne 2-0 Kearsney, Northwood 1-1 Rondebosch, Maritzburg 3-0 Parktown, KES 2-1 Eldoraigne, Grey College 1-0 Kearsney.

Monday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Selborne vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 08:40 – KES vs Queens, 09:50 – Waterkloof vs Northwood, 11:00 – Jeppe vs Rondebosch, 12:10 – St John’s vs Kearsney, 13:20 – Maritzburg College vs Grey College, 14:30 – Parktown vs St Charles