{"id":79034,"date":"2025-08-04T08:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T06:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=79034"},"modified":"2025-08-04T08:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T06:54:11","slug":"hts-witbank-turns-attention-to-noordvaal-cup-after-league-triumph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=79034","title":{"rendered":"HTS Witbank turns attention to Noordvaal Cup after league triumph"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The HTS Witbank’s first team after winning the 2025 edition of the Mpumalanga Schools’ League. Photo: Mpumalanga Hockey<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The HTS Witbank<\/strong> boys’ first-team hockey side will head off to the Noordvaal Cup Tournament<\/strong>, set to take place in Polokwane, brimming with confidence after winning the Mpumalanga Schools’ League<\/strong> a week ago.<\/p>\n

They took on Ho\u00ebrskool Nelspruit\u00a0<\/strong>in the boys’ final, and after a tight clash had ended 1-1, they stretched clear to win 3-0 on penalties.<\/p>\n

The league title was their second in succession.<\/p>\n

The side, led by coaches Anel Tolmay<\/strong> and Kobus D\u00f6rfling<\/strong>, performed strongly throughout the playoffs, dismantling their oppostion and scoring goals for fun.<\/p>\n

They downed Ho\u00ebrskool Oosterland<\/strong> 3-0 before smashing 11 goals past Ho\u00ebrskool Nelspruit’<\/strong>s B-team.<\/p>\n

In the quarterfinals, they scored a comprehensive 5-1 win over Ho\u00ebrskool Rob Ferreira<\/strong> before beating Oosterland<\/strong> 3-0, once again, in the semifinals.<\/p>\n

The final, against Nelspruit, had been scheduled for 26 July, but lightning caused it to be rescheduled to Wednesday, 30 July.\u00a0It was a tightly contested affair. However, after the 1-1 draw in regulation time, penalty conversions from Lehan Roux<\/strong>, Amogelang Ntjane<\/strong>, and Lwazi Nchabeleng<\/strong>, and some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Jeandre<\/strong> Schoombie<\/strong>, sealed the win for HTS Witbank.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m beyond proud. The boys played some good hockey and defended their title well,” coach Anel Tolmay told SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“Most of our games in the league were not that difficult. We faced Middelburg Ho\u00ebrskool<\/strong>, and that was a tough game. They tested us, and the game was very tight.”<\/p>\n

To qualify for the knockout stages of the Mpumalanga league, a team must finish in the top four in their region.\u00a0Witbank advanced from the Nkangala District<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"The
The HTS Witbank coaches, Anel Tolmay and Kobus D\u00f6rfling, will be hoping for more silverware when their side contests the Noordvaal Cup. Photo: Mpumalanga Hockey<\/a><\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tolmay believes the side’s success will have a major impact on their school. “This is very big for our school,” she explained. “It’s something we have been working on for the past two\/three years.<\/p>\n

“We want to get the level of hockey up and promote more development and have more teams being competitive in the region.”<\/p>\n

The HTS Witbank side, led by captain Daniel van Wyk<\/strong>, after taking a little time to enjoy their title-winning success, has since set its sights on the Noordvaal Cup, which will be hosted by Ho\u00ebrskool Pietersburg<\/strong>, in Polokwane,\u00a0from 7-9 August<\/p>\n

Last year, HTS Witbank finished fourth, while Ho\u00ebrskool Monument<\/a><\/strong> lifted the title.<\/p>\n

Coach Tolmay understands the level of competition awaiting her side, but she backs her players to give a solid account of themselves.<\/p>\n

“I’m hoping that we can compete and potentially come back with another trophy.<\/p>\n

“With that said, the competition at Noordvaal is very tough. We will need to work hard, but I’m confident the boys have it in them,” she reckoned.<\/p>\n

HTS Witbank opens their challenge with two matches on day one of the Noordvaal Cup, facing Ho\u00ebrskool Zwartkop <\/strong>at 11:15 and Sasolburg High School<\/strong> at 15:45.<\/p>\n

All matches will be played on Ho\u00ebrskool Pietersburg’<\/strong>s AstroTurf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The HTS Witbank boys’ first-team hockey side will head off to the Noordvaal Cup Tournament, set to take place in Polokwane, brimming with confidence after winning the Mpumalanga Schools’ League a week ago. They took on Ho\u00ebrskool Nelspruit\u00a0in the boys’ final, and after a tight clash had ended 1-1, they stretched clear to win 3-0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":79035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79034","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\/79034","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=79034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}