12 May 2023
The Maritzburg College 1st XI has secured itself a top four place in the KZN High School Football Association’s second term Inland competition after a 2-1 victory over Linpark on Barns on Thursday.
In the early going, College moved the ball around well and dominated possession but, said College Director of Soccer, Nic Haswell: “We missed a few early chances again.”
Nonetheless, the home side found the net twice in the opening stanza, with Mazithi Qasha and Mateo Horstead getting their names on the scoresheet.
After the break, Linpark clawed their way back into the contest by finding a reply. “The game, perhaps, got a bit scrappy in the second half,” Haswell said. “We let them back into the game, and they scored a scrappy goal.
Maritzburg College off to a winning start | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Happy…and disappointed
“We are, of course, happy with the three points. It is hard to say you are disappointed when you win. But we were disappointed from the standpoint of thinking we should have put more on them.
“We say in football that 2-0 is the most dangerous score to have. It gives a false sense of security. As much as we can say to the boys that they need to put a third and fourth goal in the net, it is human nature that you take your foot off the gas a little bit, maybe try to keep the ball a bit too much. If you don’t play positively enough, you can concede a silly goal, which is what we did.
“However, even after we conceded, we looked like, if there was to be another goal in the game, the team to score it.”
Standings
The league features four teams in each group, so College, after a 4-0 win over Newton in their opener, are certain to proceed through to play either the first- or second placed team from the other group, which features Alexandra High School, Haythorn Secondary School and the Maritzburg College 2nd team.
First place in the group is still up for grabs, though. Carter High, College’s opponent on Barns in two weeks’ time, are also in the running for the top spot. They drew 1-1 with Linpark in their first match and then beat Newton 2-0 on Thursday.
“The classic big four”
“It’s going to end up with the classic big four – Maritzburg College, Carter, Alex and Haythorn – which would be great,” Haswell remarked.
He and his players will be afforded a stiff challenge next week and be kept on their toes, ahead of their clash with Carter, when they take on Michaelhouse, in a pre-season friendly for the boys from Balgowan.
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