{"id":75777,"date":"2025-06-21T20:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T18:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=75777"},"modified":"2025-06-21T20:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T18:04:12","slug":"selborne-and-clarendon-win-big-on-derby-day-against-stirling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=75777","title":{"rendered":"Selborne and Clarendon win big on derby day against Stirling"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Selborne
Selborne struck four times in the first half, on their way to a 5-1 win over Stirling High. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two of East London\u2019s top hockey-playing schools, Selborne College<\/strong> and Clarendon High School for Girls<\/strong>, will go into the mid-year break satisfied after recording impressive wins against Stirling High School<\/strong> on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Selborne was ruthless in front of a jam-packed crowd at Stirling and defeated their opponents 5-1, courtesy of a strong first-half performance.<\/p>\n

Clarendon, meanwhile, had to show some mettle and, after trailing 0-2, they came from behind to win 3-2, much to the satisfaction of their supporters.<\/p>\n

Both of the visiting sides were confident heading into the clash after getting one over Cambridge High School<\/strong> a week ago in another local derby.<\/p>\n

Selborne was far from their best in that encounter but secured a nervy 3-2 win, while the Clarrie Bags<\/em> <\/strong>operated in full motion and overran Cambridge 9-0.<\/p>\n

Stirling, on the other hand, faced Hudson Park High<\/strong> last week and, while the girls won 3-2, the boys suffered a 1-3 loss.<\/p>\n

It was certainly going to be a different challenge for the visitors, and Clarendon was in for a tough day at the office.<\/p>\n

They started on the back foot and were outplayed in the first half by coach Michael Dettmer’<\/strong>s outfit, who struck twice, through Mathibane Mqeni<\/strong> and Lelona<\/strong> Botha<\/strong>, to open up a nice lead.<\/p>\n

However, the visitors pulled one back just before halftime. That goal brought some belief to the Clarendon camp, and the halftime team talk by coach Luaan Sedras<\/strong>\u00a0and his backroom staff worked like a charm.<\/p>\n

They played much better hockey in the second half and put Stirling under immense pressure, which resulted in two more goals to complete the comeback.<\/p>\n

Caroline Kretzmann, Hannah Hatting<\/strong>, and Kate Booysens<\/strong> netted for Clarendon, while Chadlyn Johannes<\/strong>, who made her debut this year, created two of their goals. She’s a player to keep an eye on in the coming years.<\/p>\n

\"Clarendon
Clarendon was forced to come from two goals behind to beat Stirling 3-2 in East London. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a><\/strong> after the game, coach Sedras applauded his teams for staying in the fight.<\/p>\n

“We were surprised with how Stirling started the game,” he said. “They were aggressive, and we were always back-pedalling and playing on the back foot.<\/p>\n

“We struggled in the first half, but we scored a goal before halftime, and I think that goal gave us the momentum and confidence we needed.<\/p>\n

“It was a game of two halves,” he added, “and we were more positive and aggressive in the second.<\/p>\n

“I’m proud of my girls with the character they showed to come from two goals behind to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Clarendon was forced to grind out a tough win, Selborne cruised to victory in the main match of the day.<\/p>\n

Coach KJ Friend<\/strong>‘s outfit started like a house on fire, kept the pressure dialled up, and scored early goals, while standing firm at the back.<\/p>\n

They led 4-0 at the break and scored one more goal in the second half to seal an emphatic 5-1 win.<\/p>\n

On the scoresheet were skipper Gray van Heerden<\/strong> and Christopher Pringle<\/strong>, who both struck twice.\u00a0Reid Drake<\/strong>, who has been in top form all season long at penalty corner time, also found the back of the net.<\/p>\n

Coach Friend was pleased with his team’s performance, especially after their tight win over Cambridge.<\/p>\n

“Last week we let ourselves down, and I think it was because of exam fever,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “This week we came out with the purpose to keep the ball and just be better.<\/p>\n

“We were much better. It was tough against a good half-court press, but I’m happy. It’s a good way to end the term.”<\/p>\n

Selborne had a tough start to the season at the Nomads Hockey Festival<\/a><\/strong> and King Edward VII Easter Hockey Festival<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They continued to struggle at the Hibbert Shield<\/a><\/strong>, in Gqeberha, but in May they found their mojo and started playing like the Selborne everyone has become accustomed to.<\/p>\n

\"Selborne
Selborne College 1st XI hockey coach, KJ Friend. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They defeated St Andrew’s College <\/a><\/strong>and Dale College<\/strong> and drew 2-2 with Grey College<\/a><\/strong>. Those results proved the turnaround was real.<\/p>\n

Coach Friend revealed how he got his players on track: “We’ve just told the boys to play to our strengths. We know we are in a building phase.<\/p>\n

“I told them to utilise our strengths. One or two standout performances over the last two weeks have proved what they are.<\/p>\n

“We are identifying what we’re good at and what we’re not good at and just sticking to what’s working,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Both Selborne and Clarendon will be well represented in the Border<\/strong> teams at the forthcoming SASHOC National Week<\/a><\/strong> in Pietermaritzburg from 30 June to 5 July.<\/p>\n

That tournament will be exclusively LIVE on SuperSport Schools<\/strong> and DStv Channel 216<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two of East London\u2019s top hockey-playing schools, Selborne College and Clarendon High School for Girls, will go into the mid-year break satisfied after recording impressive wins against Stirling High School on Friday night. Selborne was ruthless in front of a jam-packed crowd at Stirling and defeated their opponents 5-1, courtesy of a strong first-half performance. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":75778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75777","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\/75777","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=75777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}