{"id":31442,"date":"2023-12-13T17:57:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31442"},"modified":"2023-12-13T17:57:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:57:22","slug":"day-5-gauteng-girls-edge-out-province-in-epic-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=31442","title":{"rendered":"DAY 5 | Gauteng girls edge out Province in epic final"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The\u00a0Central Gauteng A<\/strong>\u00a0u19 girls\u2019 team have successfully defended their\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial<\/strong>\u00a0title after they edged Western Province A\u00a012-10<\/strong>\u00a0in the final on Wednesday morning in\u00a0Gqeberha<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Gauteng side, one of the most successful teams in the past decade at the tournament, were forced to dig deep against a resilient Province side in front of an energetic crowd at the\u00a0Grey High School<\/strong>\u00a0swimming pool.<\/p>\n

Both sides were high in confidence coming into the final after maintaining 100 percent records throughout the pool stages and knock-out matches.<\/p>\n

They matched up well, with Gauteng proving ruthless in front of goal throughout the week, while Western Province coach\u00a0Nicola Barrett<\/strong>\u2019s troops were resolute in defence, despite conceding a few goals in the latter stages of the knock-out matches.<\/p>\n

Seeking to get out of the blocks quickly, both sides began the match at a high tempo, with Gauteng opening the scoring early in the first quarter through a\u00a0Jenna Penney<\/strong>\u00a0penalty.<\/p>\n

Province hit back immediately with two goals from\u00a0Morgan Christian<\/strong>. First, she found herself in space and slotted the ball in the right-hand corner before some interlinking passes between her teammates created another opportunity for Christian to grab a second and put Province 2-1 ahead after the first eight minutes.<\/p>\n

\"\"The match opened up in the second and third chukkas, and that\u2019s when Gauteng hit the front.<\/p>\n

Coach\u00a0Etienne Le Roux<\/strong>\u2019s experienced side was able to extricate itself out of pressure situations and his players came to life, scoring four times to take the lead from their Cape rivals. Frequent goal scorer,\u00a0Mia Loizides,\u00a0<\/strong>was once again in the front line, grabbing a hattrick, while\u00a0Kara Wicht<\/strong>, who had come to the fore over the previous two days, also got her name onto the scoreboard.<\/p>\n

Trailing by two goals entering the final quarter, Western Province looked hurried and harassed in front of goal, whereas Gauteng were firing on all cylinders and building scoreboard pressure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They closed out the match with three late goals by\u00a0Loizides<\/strong>,\u00a0Wicht<\/strong>, and\u00a0Francesca De Villiers<\/strong>. Try as they might, Province just couldn\u2019t reel in the Central Gauteng total despite impressive showings by\u00a0Morgan Christian<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Hannah Banks<\/strong>, who both contributed four goals apiece.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>We made it a bit tough in the final. I thought that we could\u2019ve done a bit better, but at the end of the day, a gold medal is a gold medal,\u201d Le Roux told\u00a0SuperSport Schools<\/strong>\u00a0after the final whistle.<\/p>\n

In the second quarter, Central Gauteng A appeared to be a mere shadow of the side they were in their semifinal clash against their B team, and they were doing just enough to stay in the contest.<\/p>\n

Le Roux said he didn\u2019t have to do that much talking at half-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, in the beginning, we created a lot of chances, and we just didn\u2019t put the ball in the back of the net,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent about three minutes at halftime breathing, and everyone with their eyes closed, and I just told the players that they\u2019ve got this, and they just needed to execute like they\u2019ve done in the last four to five years of their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just so proud of the team, and their efforts and the hard work they\u2019ve put in during the last weeks. It\u2019s been amazing to see them get this reward,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

\"\"For Province, their wait for an IPT title continues, and it\u2019s another heartbreak in the final against the same opponents, who also defeated them in the 2018 title game.<\/p>\n

They will, however, hold their heads up high having shown fighting spirit until the final whistle.<\/p>\n

Their goalkeeper,\u00a0Naledi Kaseya,<\/strong>\u00a0was influential in keeping her side within reach of Central Gauteng, pulling off a total of eight saves in the first three chukkas of the match.<\/p>\n

Coach Barrett had words of praise for her net-minder: \u201cI think our keeper had a hell of a game today, and she pulled out all the stops,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n

She also admitted she didn\u2019t think her players brought their best to the final: \u201cI thought our energy was really low. I don\u2019t think we replicated the energy we brought against KZN, and that was probably because the nerves got to us in the second and third chukkas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just made silly little mistakes, but I\u2019m super happy with the girls. I thought we did well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day,\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal<\/strong>\u00a0came just short of claiming the bronze medal when they were edged out 4-3 in a penalty shootout by\u00a0Central Gauteng B<\/strong>\u00a0in the 3rd<\/sup>\/4th<\/sup>\u00a0play-off match.<\/p>\n

KZN started brightly and led 5-3 at halftime, courtesy of goals by\u00a0Christy Dudas<\/strong>,\u00a0Marlise Pretorius<\/strong>, and a hattrick by\u00a0Taylor Cherry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng\u2019s\u00a0Amy Smith\u00a0<\/strong>led the fightback, netting twice, while\u00a0Amy Mather\u00a0<\/strong>struck three times, and\u00a0Tatum Rogers<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Morgan Harrison<\/strong>\u00a0added goals to leave the contest knotted up a 7-7 after regulation time.<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong>\u00a0also ended their campaign on a high by claiming a 13-10 win over their provincial rivals,\u00a0Buffalo City,<\/strong>\u00a0to finish fifth at home.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe<\/strong>\u00a0picked up a 6-4 win against\u00a0Western Province B<\/strong>, and Eastern Gauteng finished 10th after thumping the\u00a0Northern Tigers 20-3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Final Standings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A
\nWestern Province A
\nCentral Gauteng B
\nKwaZulu-Natal
\nNelson Mandela Bay
\nBuffalo City
\nZimbabwe
\nWestern Province B
\nEastern Gauteng
\nNorthern Tiger<\/p>\n

Results| Day 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A 12-10 Western Province A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Gauteng A \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Jenna Penney (3), Mia Loizides (5), Kara Wicht (3), Francesca De Villiers.\u00a0Western Province A \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Morgan Christian (4), Hannah Banks (4), Emily Van Heerden (2).<\/p>\n

Central Gauteng B 7 (4)- KwaZulu-Natal 7 (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Christy Dudas, Taylor Cherry (3), Marlise Pretorius, Annabelle Hardie, Caitlin McMurray.
\nCentral Gauteng B \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Amy Mather (3), Tatum Rogers, Amy Smith (2), Morgan Harrison,<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay 13-10 Buffalo City<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Teagan Harty (3), Amie Jenner, Matipa Karimazondo (3), Anna Pinto (4), Jamie Lacey, Olivia Connellan.
\nBuffalo City \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Chelsy Hendry (2), Jasmine Koch (2), Alex Albers (2), Tori Voke (2), Gemma Hannafay, Gabbi Whitebooi.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe 6-4 Western Province B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zimbabwe \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Erin Bent (4), Erin Van Hoof, Lauren Ashwin.
\nWestern Province B \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Isabella Tooley, Amy Pettipher, Abigail Bester (2).<\/p>\n

Eastern Gauteng 20-3 Northern Tigers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eastern Gauteng \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Maddison Griffin (7), Megan Keira Venter (3), Emma Nicle Spronk (2), Myra Strydom (3), Alana Vermaak, Alshe Hope De Klerk, Jessica Edkins, Akunna Chikeka.
\nNorthern Tigers \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Ngandu Darina Muzungu (2), Meghan Venn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Central Gauteng A\u00a0u19 girls\u2019 team have successfully defended their\u00a0Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial\u00a0title after they edged Western Province A\u00a012-10\u00a0in the final on Wednesday morning in\u00a0Gqeberha. The Gauteng side, one of the most successful teams in the past decade at the tournament, were forced to dig deep against a resilient Province side in front of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":31443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31442","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\/31442","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=31442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}