27 June 2023
Day three of the 2023 under-18 Inter-provincial Hockey Tournament in Bloemfontein featured a top of the table clash in Pool B between KZN Coastal A and KZN Inland A in the prime mid-afternoon time slot on Tuesday.
Some fine hockey was played, with both teams working hard on defence to pressure the other but, at times, it became a little frenetic with not enough attention being paid to providing a solid platform from which to attack. While Inland enjoyed more possession, it was Coastal who were more clinical in the opposition circle, which decided the fixture 2-0 in their favour.
They opened the scoring through a rocket slap from a penalty corner by Clifton’s Kyle Thomas (in photo) in the first chukka, and Aldridge Maasdorp of DHS then netted the second just before halftime, finishing with a first-time shot after a sweeping counter-attack up the right flank.
In the second half, Inland managed to pin the Coastal side deep inside its territory for long periods of play, but the Coastal defence, as it has throughout the tournament, stood firm and kept a fourth successive clean sheet.
Coach’s assessment
“It wasn’t great,” Coastal coach Michael Baker said of his side’s showing. “We lacked energy, but we took our few chances and defended hard to keep our clean sheet.” He also praised goalkeeper Keelan Henry for his performances throughout the tournament.
The KZN Coastal A side has already secured a place in the semifinals but, said Baker, Eastern Province, early on Wednesday morning, in cold conditions, will be a tough challenge because, unlike Coastal, they need the win.
KZN Coastal B pushed a talented Boland line-up hard, but they surrendered two goals in the fourth chukka to go down by a 1-3 margin.
In the late afternoon match, KZN Inland B and Eastern Province provided plenty of entertainment, but EP broke open a 2-2 tie by adding a goal in both the third and fourth chukkas to come away with a 4-2 victory.
Wednesday Matches
09:00 KZN Coastal A vs Eastern Province
10:25 KZN Coastal B vs KZN Inland B
16:05 KZN Inland A vs Boland
17:30 Eastern Province A vs KZN Coastal B
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