{"id":31316,"date":"2023-12-12T22:25:34","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T20:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31316"},"modified":"2023-12-12T22:25:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T20:25:34","slug":"day-4western-province-and-central-gauteng-to-battle-for-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31316","title":{"rendered":"DAY 4 | Western Province and Central Gauteng to battle for Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The final of this year\u2019s girls\u2019 u19\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament<\/strong>\u00a0will be contested by\u00a0Western Province<\/strong>\u00a0A<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Central Gauteng A<\/strong>\u00a0at\u00a0the Grey High School Swimming Pool<\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday in Gqeberha.<\/p>\n

Both teams have impressed all tournament long, but they\u2019ll be eager to take it all the way across the finishing line when they go for gold.<\/p>\n

For Central Gauteng A, the final presents an opportunity to win back-to-back titles after getting one past\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal<\/strong>\u00a0last year. Meanwhile, a rejuvenated Province side will be on a mission to exorcise the disappointment of a fifth-place finish in last year\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

The final is also a repeat of the 2018\u00a0<\/strong>tournament, which was won by the Gauteng-based team in East London.<\/p>\n

During the week-long tournament, both sides have been viewed as the favourites, rightfully so, considering the calibre of players they have in their arsenal.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve scored a combined\u00a0251 goals<\/strong>\u00a0in their matches to underline just how dangerous their attacking abilities are, although both, at times, have shown some inconsistencies on the defensive front.<\/p>\n

To reach the final, Western Province had to execute their game plan to perfection as they faced a KwaZulu-Natal outfit that had struggled for cohesion in the first semifinal.<\/p>\n

KZN also played the match without their head coach,\u00a0Paul Martin<\/strong>, who received a red card and was shown his marching orders in the quarterfinal against Nelson Mandela Bay earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Province, high in confidence after scoring 20 goals in their quarterfinal against their B-side, picked up from where they left off, dominating ball possession, and capitalising on KZN\u2019s errors.<\/p>\n

Reddam House Constantia\u2019s\u00a0Hannah Banks<\/strong>\u00a0was influential and opened the scoring early in the first chukka. Her side kicked on from there, putting KZN under immense pressure, and despite goals from\u00a0Marlise Pretorius<\/strong>, and\u00a0Taylor Cherry<\/strong>, Province led 8-2 after the second chukka.<\/p>\n

The KZN ladies showed some fighting spirit in the third chukka. They defended well and halved the deficit with goals by\u00a0Emma Thornton<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Amber Lewis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However, with Martin\u2019s voice absent on the bench, they failed to keep Province at bay, and a further six goals in the second half secured a hard-fought win for the ladies from the Western Cape.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the contest, head coach,\u00a0Nicola Barrett,<\/strong>\u00a0said she was thrilled that her team had made the final. She was also adamant a lot needs to be fixed defensively if they are to win the title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super chuffed. The girls worked hard in that game, and it was one of our better games in terms of being better on the ball and moving it fast,\u201d she told SuperSport Schools<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just our blocking \u2013 we need to touch on that. Our defence was so much better today, although they did manage to get a few goals in. We want to work on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second semi-final, meanwhile, was a provincial battle between the Central Gauteng A and B teams.<\/p>\n

The reigning champions didn\u2019t have it easy against their provincial counterparts, who put them under pressure from the first whistle to the last.<\/p>\n

Head coach\u00a0Etienne Le Roux\u2019s<\/strong> frustrations were visible from the touchline, despite his side leading for the majority of the encounter.<\/p>\n

At the halfway mark, the A team was just 7-5 ahead. It was only in the fourth chukka, when\u00a0Gina Sguazzin<\/strong>, and\u00a0Ruby Carlson<\/strong>\u00a0doubled their tallies, that they managed to put the contest to bed.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the match, assistant coach Kyla Moolman said the team was delighted to be afforded the opportunity to contest another final, but they will need to bring their A-game against a dangerous Province side.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a bit of a rocky match, but we are pleased that we\u2019ve made the final again,\u201d she told\u00a0SuperSport Schools.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the girls underestimated the B team, and going forward we can\u2019t do that with Western Province. The team has prepared well enough, and we are ready for the final.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day<\/strong>, Nelson Mandela Bay lost to KwaZulu-Natal\u00a02-3\u00a0<\/b>on penalties, after the teams had ended the first quarterfinal level at 5-5.<\/p>\n

\"\"The home side would have felt a little let down after producing arguably their best performance of the tournament.<\/p>\n

They were sound in all departments, with all-rounder,\u00a0Matipa Karimazondo,<\/strong>\u00a0making six blocks and contributing one goal. Goalkeeper,\u00a0Julia Hough,<\/strong>\u00a0was also immense, making\u00a013 saves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Eastern Gauteng remained winless after a narrow 10-11 loss to Zimbabwe, for whom Erin Bent scored four and Kiara Kenny three.<\/p>\n

In the last two matches of the day, Nelson Mandela Bay beat Western Province B, while their provincial neighbours, Buffalo City, took down Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Teagan Harty<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Anna Pinto<\/strong>\u00a0starred for the hosts in their win over the Capetonians, scoring 10 goals between them, while\u00a0Tori Voke<\/strong>\u00a0was the stand-out player for Buffalo City, scoring another hat trick.<\/p>\n

Scorers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Results| Day 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal 5 (3) \u2013 5 (2) Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong><\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Emma Thornton, Amber Lewis (2), Caitlin McMurray (2).
\nNelson Mandela Bay:<\/strong>\u00a0Matipa Karimazondo, Teagan Harty (3), Anna Pinto.<\/p>\n

Western Province A 20-7 Western Province B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province A \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Tyra Penney (3), Tayla Kreymborg, Emily Van Heerden (2), Hannah Banks (3), Isabella Roche (2), Roxanne Uys, Amy Van Breda, Emma Catto (2), Erin-Belle Nordgaard, Olivia Geddes, Tetra Hollenbach (2), Alexa De Villiers.
\nWestern Province B:<\/strong>\u00a0Isabella Tooley (4), Jemma Stearns, Tara Roos, Amy Pettipher.<\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A 20-2 Zimbabwe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Jenna Penny (3), Gina Sguazzin (2), Georgia Eccles (3), Charlotte Crick (2), Kara Wicht (3), Georgia Cope (2), Ruby Carlson, Mia Loizides (3), Michaela Boaventura.
\nZimbabwe \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Lauren Ashwin, Erin Bent.<\/p>\n

Central Gauteng B 15-8 Buffalo City<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buffalo City \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Tori Voke (2), Alex Albers, Jenna Tarr, Gabbi Whitebooi, Alison Woodin, Julianna Saffy, Tatum Knox.
\nCentral Gauteng B \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Amy Smith (3), Amy Mather, Jessica Black (2), Emma Van Rensburg, Morgan Harrison (3), Emma Morely (2), Humairaa Bodiat, Amy Stubbs (2).<\/p>\n

Western Province A 14-9 KwaZulu-Natal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Hannah Banks (5), Tyra Penney, Roxanne Uys, Emma Catto (2), Amy Van Breda, Roxanne Uys, Alexa De Villiers, Morgan Christian, Emily Van Heerden.
\n<\/strong>KwaZulu-Natal \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Marlise Pretorius (2), Taylor Cherry, Emma Thornton (2), Amber Lewis, Caitlin McMurray (3).<\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A 15-7 Central Gauteng B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Jenna Penney (2), Gina Sguazzin (2), Georgia Eccles (4), Kara Wicht, Ruby Carlson (2), Lauren Fox (2), Mia Loizides, Charlotte Crick.
\nCentral Gauteng B \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Amy Mather (2), Morgan Harrison, Amy Smith (2), Cecilia Petersen, Emma Morley.<\/p>\n

Western Province B 29-4 Northern Tigers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province B \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Jemma Stearns (2), Leilla Hibling (6), Isabella Tooley (6), Claire Dekker, Keisha Delaney, Kate Formby (4), Amy Pettipher (8), Abigail Bester.
\nNorthern Tigers \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Christien Steenekamp, Ngandu Darina Muzungu, Mulan Perring (2).<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe 11-10 Eastern Gauteng<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zimbabwe \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Kiara Kenny (3), Erin Bent (4), Erin Van Hoof (2), Charlotte Martell, Zoe Denslow.\u00a0Eastern Gauteng\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Maddison Griffin (4), Megan Keira Venter, Emma Nicole Spronk (4), Myra Strydom.<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay 13-7 Western Province B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province B \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Jemma Stearns, Leila Hibling, Isabella Tooley, Kate Formby, Amy Pettipher (2), Nicole Bantom.
\nNelson Mandela Bay \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Teagan Harty (4), Jasmine Witthuhn, Anna Pinto (6), Jamie Lacey, Jorja Ross.<\/p>\n

Buffalo City 10-8 Zimbabwe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buffalo City \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Tori Voke (3), Roxy-Lee van Eek, Alex Albers (2), Chelsy Hendry (2), Julianna Saffy, Jasmine Koch.
\nZimbabwe \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Lucy Wood, Erin Bent (3), Charlotte Martell, Shannon Cooke, Lauren Ashwin, Bailey Knox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The final of this year\u2019s girls\u2019 u19\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament\u00a0will be contested by\u00a0Western Province\u00a0A\u00a0and\u00a0Central Gauteng A\u00a0at\u00a0the Grey High School Swimming Pool\u00a0on Wednesday in Gqeberha. Both teams have impressed all tournament long, but they\u2019ll be eager to take it all the way across the finishing line when they go for gold. For Central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":31319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}