{"id":76250,"date":"2025-06-29T08:51:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T06:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76250"},"modified":"2025-06-29T08:51:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T06:51:21","slug":"adrenaline-soars-in-knockout-stages-at-kloof-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76250","title":{"rendered":"Adrenaline soars in knockout stages at Kloof High"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo. LB Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kloof High School National Football Tournament<\/strong> brings together schools from vastly different backgrounds from across South Africa. But one of the common threads is that many of the country’s top sides are part of the action. Others, lesser known, are out to upset the apple cart.<\/p>\n

When those teams come together, upsets and shocking defeats are likely to occur. That’s the nature of the event, which transitions from a group stage competition on day one into a knockout the following day.<\/p>\n

Saturday was knockout day, and the casualties included Maritzburg College<\/strong>, who had won all three of their group games. They, however, exited the Cup competition but remain in contention for the Plate.<\/p>\n

Cup Knockout<\/strong><\/p>\n

The group matches concluded on Saturday morning, with wins then becoming of utmost importance in the knockouts. Several top teams found their Cup ambitions ended, as sides found themselves playing in the other divisions for either the Plate, the Shield, or the Spoon.<\/p>\n

Virginia High School<\/strong>, who beat Maritzburg College 3-1 in 2024’s bronze medal match, and won the ABSA Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament<\/strong> <\/a> earlier this year, continued to shine on Saturday. They overpowered Umvuzo Secondary School<\/strong> 4-0 in their last 16 match to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Carter High<\/strong> on Sunday.<\/p>\n

It’s a highly anticipated meeting of the runners-up of the Mancosa KwaZulu-Natal High Schools Football Association (KZNHSFA) Inland A-League<\/strong><\/a>, and the Absa Wildeklawer champs.<\/p>\n

Virginia High has been running hot all year long, and, apart from their title-winning success in Kimberley, they’ve been putting on a weekly show in their domestic league, the Magnificent Wednesday Schools Football League<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Photo. LB Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What adds to the excitement of Sunday’s showdown is the fact that Carter High won 2-1 over their long-standing rival, Maritzburg College, in the last 16.<\/p>\n

Games between the Pietermaritzburg schools are almost always hard-fought, but it was an especially gratifying win for Carter, who went down to the Red, Black<\/strong><\/em>, and White<\/strong><\/em> in the final of the KZN Inland A-League in May.<\/p>\n

In other last 16 matches, a former Kloof champion, HTS Louis Botha<\/strong> was pushed to their limits. They, however, scraped a 1-0 victory over Nilgiri Secondary School<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

TuksSport High School<\/strong> continued their impressive campaign with a decisive 2-0 victory over Durban High School (DHS),<\/strong> while Vuyiswa Mtolo<\/strong>, who have shown up well in the Kloof tournament in the past, beat New Forest<\/strong> 1-0.<\/p>\n

Edendale Tech High School<\/strong><\/a>, which earned promotion from the KZNHSFA Inland B-League<\/strong> to the Inland A-League last season and then finished third this season, delivered a dominant performance to advance to the quarterfinals, outplaying Mondeor High<\/strong> 3-0<\/p>\n

Pinetown Boys’ High<\/strong>, a dark horse outfit, produced a strong showing to cruise to a 4-0 win over Ashton Ballito<\/strong>. Their reward is a quarterfinal clash against Edendale.<\/p>\n

Another team that is on people’s radar is the defending champion, Nqabakazulu<\/strong><\/a>, who didn’t concede a goal on their way to the title in 2024<\/strong><\/a>, and their defensive record remains unblemished thus far in 2025 after they defeated the hosts, Kloof High School A<\/strong> 4-0 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

In the quarterfinals, they face the team they beat 3-0 to win the title last year, HTS Louis Botha. The Bloemfontein boys will need to be on their A-game to challenge the champions.<\/p>\n

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Photo. LB Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plate Knockout\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The teams that were eliminated from the last 16 of the Cup competition continued their journey in the Plate playoffs.<\/p>\n

Following their elimination from the Cup, Maritzburg College beat another KZN Inland side, Umvuzo Secondary<\/strong>, 2-0. That’s put College into the semi-finals of the Plate.<\/p>\n

Nilgiri claimed a narrow 3-2 victory over Kloof High A, while New Forest took down DHS, winning 3-1. Mondeor High was on song, surging to a convincing 5-1 victory over Ashton Ballito.<\/p>\n

Those results mean it will be Mondeor against New Forest on Sunday for a place in the Plate final.<\/p>\n

Shield Knockout<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexandra High School<\/strong>, which SuperSport Schools’ commentator Sibonelo Zulu<\/strong> has described as the sleeping giant of KZN Schools football, finished in third place in Group A of the competition.<\/p>\n

However, there was a pick-me-up for Alex on Saturday, with a 3-1 win over Durban North College <\/strong>putting them through to the Shield quarters.<\/p>\n

Northwood School<\/strong>, who have endured a challenging season, which has included narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the round-robin of the KZNHSFA Coastal A-League, by scoring their first win of the season<\/a><\/strong>, a very good 3-0 victory over Pinetown Boys’ High, picked up a 2-1 win over Sarel Cilliers, which put them through to Sunday’s quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

In other Shield last 16 matches, Kearsney College<\/strong> scored a 2-1 victory over Linpark, while Amanzimtoti<\/strong> defeated St Henry’s Marist College<\/strong> 1-0.<\/p>\n

Reddam House Umhlanga<\/strong> bagged a comfortable 4-1 victory against Kloof High B,<\/strong> while Hilton College<\/strong> ran out 2-0 winners over George Campbell<\/strong>. Birdswood<\/strong> turned on the style to overrun Howick High <\/strong>5-0.<\/p>\n

In a big surprise, the champions of the Mancosa Coastal A-League, Westville Boys’ High<\/strong><\/a>, finished only third place in Group F with one win, one draw, and one loss, which put them out of the running for the Cup competition.<\/p>\n

That led to an interesting consequence, with Westville meeting Hillcrest High<\/strong> in a repeat of the KZNHSFA Coastal A-League final, which Westville won 4-3 from the penalty spot after a goalless draw. This time, they won emphatically, picking up a 3-0 win.<\/p>\n

Spoon Knockout\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Spoon competition, Sarel Cilliers outplayed Durban North College 5-0 and Linpark matched that scoreline in a big win over St Henry’s.\u00a0Hillcrest High, also, won 5-0, comfortably dispatching Kloof High B.<\/p>\n

The last of the Spoon matches also delivered five goals, this time, though, Howick High edged out George Campbell 3-2.<\/p>\n

RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday 28 June<\/p>\n

Group Stages<\/strong><\/p>\n

Group A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexandra High School 2-0 Kloof High School B<\/p>\n

Group B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Northwood 2-1 Hillcrest<\/p>\n

Group C<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kearsney College 3-1 George Campbell<\/p>\n

Group D<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mondeor High 1-1 Amanzimtoti<\/p>\n

Group E<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kloof High School A 4-2 Durban North College
\nTuksSport 4-0 Reddam House Umhlanga<\/p>\n

Group F<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vuyiswa Mtolo 5-1 Sarel Cilliers
\nNilgiri 3-2 Westville<\/p>\n

Group G<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pinetown 4-2 Umvuzo Secondary
\nHilton College 1-0 Linpark<\/p>\n

Group H<\/strong><\/p>\n

St Henry’s 0-0 Howick
\nCarter High 1-1 Edendale<\/p>\n

Cup Knockout\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last 16\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nqabakazulu 4-0 Kloof High School
\nHTS Louis Botha 1-0 Nilgiri
\nCarter High 2-1 Maritzburg College
\nTuks 2-0 Durban High School
\nVuyiswa Mtolo 1-0 New Forest
\nVirginia High 4-0 Umvuzo Secondary School
\nPinetown 4-0 Ashton Ballito
\nEdendale 3-0 Mondeor High<\/p>\n

Shield Knockout\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexandra High School 3-1 Durban North College
\nNorthwood 2-1 Sarel Cilliers
\nKearsney College 2-1 Linpark
\nAmanzimtoti 1-0 St Henry’s
\nReddam House 4-1 Kloof High School B
\nWestville 3-0 Hillcrest High
\nHilton College 2-0 George Campbell
\nBirdswood 5-0 Howick<\/p>\n

Plate Knockout<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nilgiri 3-2 Kloof High School A
\nMaritzburg College 2-0 Umvuzo Secondary
\nNew Forest 3-1 Durban High School
\nMondeor High 5-1 Ashton Ballito<\/p>\n

Spoon Knockout<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarel Cilliers 5-0 Durban North College
\nLinpark 5-0 St Henry’s
\nHillcrest 5-0 Kloof High School B
\nHowick 3-2 George Campbell<\/p>\n

Fixtures: Sunday 29 June<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cup Knockout Quarterfinals<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Field\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30 – Tuks vs Vuyiswa Mtolo
\n08:30 – Nqabakazulu vs HTS Louis Botha<\/p>\n

Top A<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30 Pinetown vs Edendale
\n08:30 – Virginia High vs Carter High<\/p>\n

Plate Knockout\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Field<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:30 – Nilgiri vs Maritzburg College<\/p>\n

Top A<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:30 – New Forest vs Mondeor High<\/p>\n

Place 13 – 16<\/strong><\/p>\n

Top B<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:30 – Kloof High School A<\/p>\n

Massingham\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:30 – Durban High School vs Ashton Ballito<\/p>\n

Shield Knockout Quarterfinals\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Top B<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30 – Reddam House Umhlanga vs Westville
\n08:30 – Alexandra High School vs Northwood<\/p>\n

Massingham\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30 – Hilton College vs Birdswood
\n08:30 – Kaersney College vs Amanzimtoti<\/p>\n

Spoon Knockout Semifinals\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Field<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:30 – Sareli Cilliers vs Linpark<\/p>\n

Top A<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:30 – Hillcrest High vs Howick<\/p>\n

Spoon 29 -32<\/strong><\/p>\n

Top B<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:30 – Durban North College vs St Henry’s<\/p>\n

Massingham<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:30 – Kloof High School B vs George Campbell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kloof High School National Football Tournament brings together schools from vastly different backgrounds from across South Africa. But one of the common threads is that many of the country’s top sides are part of the action. Others, lesser known, are out to upset the apple cart. When those teams come together, upsets and shocking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":76288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76250","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\/76250","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\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}