{"id":44674,"date":"2024-05-11T07:36:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-11T05:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=44674"},"modified":"2024-05-11T07:36:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T05:36:48","slug":"kraai-dazzles-under-lights-as-sacs-thumps-paul-roos-at-the-brewery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=44674","title":{"rendered":"Kraai dazzles under lights as SACS thumps Paul Roos at the Brewery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SACS's
SACS’s Litha Kraai charges in between two PRG players during their encounter at the Brewery Astroturf in Cape Town on 10 May 2024. Photo Credits: Ray Chaplin<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South African College High School (SACS) <\/strong>playmaker Litha Kraai<\/strong> scored an impressive hattrick of goals to lead his side to a resounding and emphatic 6-2 win over Paul Roos Gimnasium<\/strong> (PRG) <\/strong>at a buzzing Brewery Astroturf in the southern suburbs of Cape Town on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Kraai, who has been in superb form for the Cape side this season, scored in the second and fourth chukkas to help his side get back to winning ways.<\/p>\n

Rewatch the action on SuperSport Schools<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The highly anticipated clash was the second meeting between the teams in less than a week after they clashed in the final of the Hibbert Shield <\/a><\/strong>last weekend.<\/p>\n

There, PRG came out victorious, winning (6-5) on sudden death penalties after being forced to fight back from a 0-3 deficit in the first half to end regulation time at 3-3.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, SACS entered the match on the back of a 1-1 draw against Bishops Diocesan College<\/strong> during the week.<\/p>\n

Just like they did in the Hibbert Shield final, coach Sam Holmes<\/strong>‘s team started the brighter, dominating ball possession and asserting themselves.<\/p>\n

PRG, however, had the first opportunity to open the scoring when they received a PC eight minutes into the first chukka.\u00a0Skipper Reuben Sendzul<\/strong> attempted a variation, linking up with Christo Swanepoel,<\/strong> but SACS’s shot-stopper Noah Venter<\/strong> was equal to the test, making his first save of the night.<\/p>\n

PRG went on to score late in the chukka, after Joshua Smit<\/strong> picked up a loose ball outside the circle, drove inside, and smashed it into the bottom left corner to put his team 1-0 up after the first quarter of the contest.<\/p>\n

SACS were quickly out of the blocks in the second chukka and equalised with a minute played through the energetic Zachary Redfern<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It was blow-for-blow after that, with both teams keeping each other at bay. However, Kraai<\/strong>, after being restricted by PRG’s defence, gave SACS the lead late in the quarter, scoring with seconds left, to edge his side in front at the break.<\/p>\n

Both sides were let down by their discipline in the third chukka, with the umpires sending four players to the dugout, with PRG captain Sendzul and Hano Basson<\/strong> being given their marching orders for dissention and a dangerous tackle respectively. Meanwhile, for SACS, it was Reece Theunis<\/strong> and Kraai<\/strong> for similar offences.<\/p>\n

The fourth chukka completely changed the complexion of the match.<\/p>\n

With both Theunis, and Kraai momentarily still off the park, SACS scored their third through Head Boy and captain, Stephen Meyer<\/strong>, who struck with a drag flick from a PC to extend his side’s lead to 3-1.<\/p>\n

\"Kraai
Kraai steps up to take a penalty stroke for his team in their clash vs PRG at the Brewery Astroturf on 10 May 2024. Photo credits: Ray Chaplin<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Minutes later, it was a Cohen Williams<\/strong> link-up with Kraai<\/strong> that saw the grade 10 pupil score his second after smartly beating PRG’s shot-stopper Beor van Reenen<\/strong> to make it 4-1.<\/p>\n

As the chukka went on, the hosts gained further momentum, and right back, Nick Paxton<\/strong> won a penalty stroke for his side after he was fouled by Van Reenen<\/strong> inside the circle.<\/p>\n

The ‘keeper was shown his marching orders. Kraai stepped up against Louan van Zyl <\/strong>and completed his hattrick by depositing the ball into the left-hand corner to give his side a handy 5-1 advantage<\/p>\n

PRG’s Seth Paterson <\/strong>found a response for the visitors, but Williams had the final say for SACS, making it a half-dozen for the hosts late in the match, to complete an outstanding performance in front of their home supporters.<\/p>\n

“I think I and the whole group are relieved,” head coach, Sam Holmes<\/strong> told SuperSport Schools Plus<\/strong> after the encounter.<\/p>\n

“We went through a very stressful week, playing against the top schools at the Hibbert Shield, and it didn\u2019t go our way in the final.<\/p>\n

“The guys had to rally tonight, and they did.<\/p>\n

“But that’s sport, one day you’re crying in the changing room, and the next day you’re the kings of the world, so it\u2019s a good lesson for the boys, and the coaching staff.”<\/p>\n

Holmes admitted that a lot of mental work needed to be done after his side let slip a 3-0 lead at the Hibbert Shield final.\u00a0He said his team needed to play more freely and enjoy the match.<\/p>\n

“We did a lot of work in the week regarding mentality and how we disappeared in the final,” he explained. “We concluded that we were terrified of losing from leading 3-0 up.<\/p>\n

“We spent the week looking within, transferring the mindset of fear of losing to being out there, enjoying it, and playing for each other.<\/p>\n

“We had to outwork them tonight and it\u2019s not easy to outwork a side like PRG, so I’m proud of the guys,” he concluded.<\/p>\n

SACS<\/strong> will next turn their attention to a league match when they travel to face Stellenberg High School<\/strong> next weekend.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, it doesn\u2019t get any easier for coach Michael Baker<\/strong> and his team as they prepare for a trip to Paarl to face Paarl Gimnasium<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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

SACS<\/strong> 6 (2): Litha Kraai (x3), Stephen Meyer, Zachary Redfern, Cohen Williams. Paul Roos<\/strong> 2 (1): Joshua Smit, Seth Paterson.<\/p>\n

Western Cape Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grey College 3-0 Paarl Boys’ High
\nWynberg Boys’ High 9-1 Stellenberg High
\nRondebosch Boys’ High 2-2 Paarl Gimnasium
\nSACS 6-2 Paul Roos
\nBishops Diocesan College 5-0 Fairmont
\nDF Malan 4-1 Punt<\/p>\n

The images used in the article are credited to Ray Chaplin<\/a><\/strong>. For more information about Ray Chaplin, please visit: https:\/\/yourphotos.raychaplin.photography\/\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South African College High School (SACS) playmaker Litha Kraai scored an impressive hattrick of goals to lead his side to a resounding and emphatic 6-2 win over Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) at a buzzing Brewery Astroturf in the southern suburbs of Cape Town on Friday night. Kraai, who has been in superb form for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":44675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44674","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\/44674","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=44674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}