{"id":76933,"date":"2025-07-04T19:41:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T17:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76933"},"modified":"2025-07-04T19:41:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T17:41:48","slug":"southern-gauteng-a-ready-to-tackle-wp-a-in-sashoc-nationals-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76933","title":{"rendered":"Southern Gauteng A ready to tackle WP A in SASHOC Nationals final"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Southern
Southern Gauteng A will take on Western Province A in the boys’ final at the u18 SASHOC National Week in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: TeamPhotoSA<\/a><\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last time Southern Gauteng A<\/strong> was in the boys’ final of the u18\u00a0SASHOC National Week<\/strong> was in 2023, when they took on Western Province A<\/strong> for the title in Bloemfontein.<\/p>\n

In that clash, Gauteng showed fight and resilience, but they were outplayed and defeated 3-1 by a star-studded Province side.<\/p>\n

Two years on, the boys from Johannesburg will have another crack at Province after booking their spot in the 2025 title game at Maritzburg College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The final takes place on Pape’s Astroturf<\/strong>, and pushback is at 11:45<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Kyle Reddy<\/strong>-coached side defeated Western Province B<\/strong> 3-1 in the semifinals the disappointment of missing out on the final as was the case last year. They went on to finish fourth.<\/p>\n

Southerns put together an impressive run in Pool A and finished in second place with four wins from their five outings.<\/p>\n

They claimed the scalps of Eastern Province A<\/strong> (1-0), KZN Coastal B<\/strong> (5-1), Boland B<\/strong> (8-1), and KZN Inland A<\/strong> (2-0). However, they suffered a hefty 1-5 loss to WP<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The second-place finish in the pool guaranteed them a semi-final spot against an unpredictable WP B side that’s made waves throughout the tournament<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It was far from a walk in the park for Southerns. They found the going a tough slog in the first half despite dominating possession.<\/p>\n

They had two peanlty corners awarded, but their execution let them down while the Province B defence held firm. Aidan Blatch<\/strong><\/a> also had a golden chance in front of the goal, but his shot went wide.<\/p>\n

It was 0-0 at the halfway point, but that changed in the third chukka.<\/p>\n

Province B brought the game to life when Jacques van Dyk<\/strong> converted from the top of the circle early in the chukka to set up an interesting finish.<\/p>\n

That goal appeared to touch a nerve in the Southerns’ camp, and they responded almost immediately through their captain Ethan Kapanda<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The floodgates opened after that, and Zeyad Davids<\/strong>, who is in the form of his life, scored an outrageous Tomahawk to make it 2-1.<\/p>\n

Juan Martin<\/strong> then took the outcome out of Province B’s reach in the final chukka after a smart PC variation with Blatch.<\/p>\n

\"Juan
Juan Martin scored for Southern Gauteng A in their 3-1 semi-final win over Western Province B at the SASHOC National Week. Photo: TeamPhotoSA<\/strong><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a> <\/strong>afterwards, coach Reddy gave his assessment of the match: “I think Western Province B came out well today,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We struggled to break them down, and they kept us at bay with their scramble defence, and that took away a lot of opportunities from us.<\/p>\n

“At the end of the day, with the coaching staff we have in Woody (Anthony Woodhouse<\/strong>) and Andy (Andy Aldred<\/strong>) and the group of boys we have, we showed grit and determination.”<\/p>\n

Reddy said his halftime team talk was about getting the boys to stick together, press as one unit, and implement the game plan. It worked.<\/p>\n

He’ll be hoping for a similar performance on Saturday against Western Province A.<\/p>\n

“We have a point to prove against Province after coming out of the group with them and them beating us.<\/p>\n

“We will prepare as best as we can and give it our best tomorrow.,” he said.<\/p>\n

While Southerns were made to sweat for their semi-final win, Province posted a comfortable 5-0 win over a gutsy Northern Gauteng A<\/strong> in the second semi-final.<\/p>\n

Coach Jody Erasmus’s side continued on their merry winning way after powering past their opponents in the group stages.<\/p>\n

Litha Kraai<\/strong> netted a hat-trick, with two of his goals coming from penalty strokes, while captain Jo le Roux<\/strong> sent a thunderbolt drag flick past Northerns’ keeper Owen McMenamin<\/strong>, who has had a tournament to remember.\u00a0Zachary Gibbon<\/strong> completed the dubbing in the 53rd minute.<\/p>\n

“The big focus for us in this game was on short corner defence,” coach Erasmus said after the game.<\/p>\n

“We knew Northerns had a threat there, and we must respect the ability and talent of Luken Brunette, but I think our ‘keeper, Marley Musasa, took charge well and had the guys running good lines.<\/p>\n

“As much as we wanted to score, we understood the game might come down to how well we defended, and that was key for us.”<\/p>\n

\"Western
Western Province A goalkeeper, Marley Musasa will aim to keep Southern Gauteng A at bay in the final of the 2025 SASHOC National Week. Photo: TeamPhotoSA<\/a><\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Province is hunting a fifth straight SASHOC National Week title, but they face the tricky task of beating Southern Gauteng for a second time.<\/p>\n

Western Province claimed a convincing 5-1 win when they met earlier in the tournament, but\u00a0Erasmus believes a different challenge awaits his team in the final.<\/p>\n

“It’s easy to focus on the opposition because we’ve played them before, but we understand any team can give you a different look and energy in a final,” he said. “Hence, we want to focus on ourselves.<\/p>\n

“We can’t over-prepare or under-prepare. We will want to score early and dictate the tempo of the game because Southerns are quick, and we’ll want to slow them down.”<\/p>\n

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

Southern Free State A 3<\/strong>: Gurshwin Matebesi (2), Cobus van Wyk. KZN Coastal B 2<\/strong>: Mesuli Msomi, Murray Wicks.<\/p>\n

KZN Inland A 9<\/strong>: Gordon Deutscher (4), Tadi Hove (2), Reagan Mudau, Andile Lembethe, Siwa Sithembu.\u00a0Southern Gauteng B 0<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Boland A 3:<\/strong> Bukhosi Mapethe, Ruben Gouws, Luka Meets. Eastern Province A 0<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Southern Gauteng A 3<\/strong>: Ethan Kapanda, Zeyad Davids, Juan Martin. Western Province B 1<\/strong>: Jacques van Dyk<\/p>\n

KZN Coastal A 2<\/strong>: Seth Simpson, Joshua Mungherera. Boland B 1<\/strong>: Noah Hendricks.<\/p>\n

Western Province A 5<\/strong>: Litha Kraai (3), Jo le Roux, Zachary Gibbon. Northern Gauteng A 0<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

DAY 6 FIXTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30<\/strong> – KZN Coastal B vs Southern Gauteng B (11th\/12th position) @Epworth School
\n08:55<\/strong> – Southern Free State A vs KZN Inland A (9th\/10th position) @Epworth School
\n08:55<\/strong> – Northern Gauteng A vs Western Province B (3rd\/4th position) @Maritzburg College
\n10:05<\/strong> – Eastern Province A vs Boland B (7th\/8th position) @Epworth School
\n11:15<\/strong> – Boland A vs KZN Coastal A (5th\/6th position) @Epworth School
\n11:45<\/strong> – Southern Gauteng A vs Western Province A (Final) @Maritzburg College<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last time Southern Gauteng A was in the boys’ final of the u18\u00a0SASHOC National Week was in 2023, when they took on Western Province A for the title in Bloemfontein. In that clash, Gauteng showed fight and resilience, but they were outplayed and defeated 3-1 by a star-studded Province side. Two years on, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":76960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76933","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\/76933","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=76933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}