{"id":40930,"date":"2024-04-10T15:40:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T13:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=40930"},"modified":"2024-04-10T15:40:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T13:40:29","slug":"queens-embrace-underdogs-tag-as-selborne-tussle-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=40930","title":{"rendered":"Queen’s embrace “underdogs” tag as Selborne tussle looms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Queens College first team squad before they took part in the KES, and Founders Festival. Photo: Queen’s College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A sea of black and white, and a vibrant crowd in full voice will welcome Queen’s College<\/strong> to East London on Friday for a showdown with Selborne College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Queen’s are undoubtedly the underdogs. They’ll be aiming to end Selborne’s 15-game<\/a><\/strong> winning streak since the start of the 2024 hockey season.<\/p>\n

In their local season opener last weekend, the Komani boys let a 2-0 lead slip, with Stirling High<\/strong> fighting their way back into the game to salvage a 2-2 draw.<\/p>\n

Before that, Queen’s endured a challenging run at the Founders<\/strong><\/a>, and King Edward VII<\/a> Hockey Festivals<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Playing against some of the top schools in the country, Queen’s lost the majority of their matches but a 1-1 draw with St John’s College<\/strong> at KES was an indictor of the potential of the team.<\/p>\n

“Playing at these festivals allowed us to play against top schools in the country that are not part of our normal fixture list,” Queen’s head coach Michael Baiden<\/strong> told SuperSport Schools<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“It has also allowed us to measure ourselves compared to the best in the country, and it also allowed us to learn more about where we are as a team and where we need to improve.<\/p>\n

“We now know the level we are capable of playing, and that should help us in our in-season fixtures.”<\/p>\n

Queen’s will need to be switched on and concentrate for the full four chukkas if they are to get one past their arch-rivals.<\/p>\n

Last season, Selborne scored a 3-1<\/strong> win in their first outing against Queen’s and then romped to a 9-2<\/strong> victory the second time they met.<\/p>\n

Baiden’s side won’t want a repeat of that history and they’ll turn to a handful of experienced campaigners to lead their challenge against Selborne.<\/p>\n

Queen’s has five players who featured in the first team last year. The remainder of the squad is made up of 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Queen’s College in action during their first match of the season against Stirling High School. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Baiden said a massive challenge awaits his side: <\/span>“Of course, Selborne is a team that has not lost a game this whole year and they are always a tough side to come up against.<\/p>\n

“The truth is our team will have to show good character to stay in the fight and consistently trust our game plan that we have worked on for months now.<\/p>\n

“We will have to limit the number of mistakes we make and also do our best to try and minimise the influence of their key players in the game, which will be a difficult task, but the boys will be up for it.”<\/p>\n

The side from Komani will be led by Bevaneo Maytham<\/strong> in the absence of injured skipper, Luke du Preez,<\/strong> who tore a hamstring.\u00a0Aiden van Jaarsveld<\/strong> is the vice-captain.<\/p>\n

For Queen’s to win, goalkeeper Rowan Miles <\/strong>will need to be at his best in the box.<\/p>\n

The clash starts at 18:30 on Friday at the Selborne College Astroturf.<\/p>\n

Look out for the game on DStv Channel 216, or catch it live on SuperSport Schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Selborne College: <\/strong>Nathan Amos-Brown, Gray van Heerden, Ethan James, Shane Stagg, Daniel Conroy, Joshua Haschick, Waeden Paatjes, Tre\u2019 Gilbert \u00a9, Jaques van der Merwe, Daniel Sirgel, Dan Gaylard, Reece Wait, Kungothando Macanda, Thomas Caswell, Cade Kock, Bradley Burrows.<\/p>\n

Queen’s College:\u00a0 <\/strong>Rowan Miles (gk), Asi Tybosch, Brett Hoffmann, Yibonge Mquqwana, Mafu Mandaba, Aiden van Jaarsveld (vc), Morgan Hayes, Mbasa Batyi, Damian Miles, Bevaneo Maytham (c), Liso Mtalaliso. Reserves:<\/strong> Liyema Auwa, Asi Vena, Tafiro Kagoro.<\/p>\n

Other matches<\/strong><\/p>\n

Makhanda hosts a derby clash on Friday, with Cambridge High School<\/strong> visiting Graeme College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

An improved Dale College<\/strong> side, which has played some good hockey this season, faces one of their toughest tests of the season when they welcome Grey High School <\/strong>to Qonce.<\/p>\n

Pearson<\/strong>, after going down 1-2 against Selborne College last weekend, will face a Stirling<\/strong> side, which will be buoyed after coming back from two goals down to draw with Queen’s College last weekend.<\/p>\n

Hudson Park<\/strong> is the only Eastern Cape side in action on Saturday. They take on Milnerton<\/strong> at the Oakhill Co-Ed Hockey Festival in Knysna.<\/p>\n

Fixtures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday, 12 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

16:00 –<\/strong> Graeme College vs Cambridge High
\n16:00 –<\/strong> Dale College vs Grey High
\n18:00 –<\/strong> Pearson High vs Stirling High
\n18:30 –<\/strong> Selborne College vs Queen\u2019s College<\/p>\n

Saturday, 13 April 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

16:15 –<\/strong> Hudson Park vs Milnerton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A sea of black and white, and a vibrant crowd in full voice will welcome Queen’s College to East London on Friday for a showdown with Selborne College. Queen’s are undoubtedly the underdogs. They’ll be aiming to end Selborne’s 15-game winning streak since the start of the 2024 hockey season. In their local season opener […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":40932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40930","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\/40930","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=40930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}