22 March 2024
The Durban High School 1st XI found their goal-scoring form in their first match of the 2024 Coastal Cup at the Riverside Sports Club on Friday, powering their way to a comfortable 5-1 win over St Alban’s College.
The margin of victory was the same as when the schools met last year at the Coastal Cup, with DHS winning 4-0 on that occasion.
The Horseflies, now under the direction of Keegan Hezlett, moved the ball nicely, which their coach, just three weeks into the job, enjoyed, because it was something they had been working on in the lead-up to the event.
He explained: “Our guys have been too involved in contact, which I noticed since I have taken over from Bakes [Michael Baker]. Our guys like contact and taking guys on. Often, it feels like there is pressure on the ball, because they feel like they need to eliminate a defender first. In this game, we did really well, playing the ball out of contact.
“All of our goals came from entries on the outside and T-points in the D, which we have tried to focus on as a team, and avoiding those contact zones in the middle of the field.”
DHS moved the ball effectively from one flank to the other because they maintained a good structure throughout the contest. SA u17 player, Lumi Matwele, floated around the park, taking up various positions, and gave School direction and impetus wherever he slotted in.
Hezlett, who looked very happy with his charges, identified an area that needs improvement, saying: “Defensively, we were better than we have been in the past, but we need to set up quicker. We got caught out a couple of times when they took a 16 quickly, and we were not marking.
“Especially when we get into the rhythm of scoring goals, we forget about defence, so we can be better on that broken play defence. Often, once we set up in a press, the defence is very good, but once that is eliminated and we have a scramble defence, we struggled a little bit.”
In a tough evening showdown, DHS won 1-0 against Garsfontein.
Meanwhile, Clifton College shared a 1-1 draw with Garsfontein in their first match of the day. The Durban school produced a typically energetic performance, but it wasn’t what coach Calvin Price was looking for.
He said after the game: “I don’t think we were very good today. We didn’t do the basics right and do anything that we wanted to do from our game plan, but we’ll take the 1-1 draw. We were a little lucky. Sometimes you need a little luck in hockey.”
Commenting on Garsfontein, he added: “They’re a good side, well- structured, and Steven Paulo is a fantastic coach. He’s got the boys playing some good hockey, so I think we caught them at a good time.”
Price said he has urged his charges to play the game in the areas they want to play it. “We’ve gone to a little bit of a defensive mindset. I don’t think we’ve got the ball into the right areas,” he explained. “I think that’s the big thing for us. We’re good on the counter, but we’ve got to make sure we score when we’re in the final third.”
On Friday evening, despite a break when the floodlights went down, Clifton came out on the right side of their encounter with Waterkloof, claiming a 2-1 victory.
Westville Boys’ High, who have posted early season wins over Michaelhouse (2-0) and Clifton (2-1), were pushed hard by Pearson in their morning showdown. Last year, the teams shared a 3-3 draw at the Coastal Cup, but this time the Griffin found just enough to claim a tight 1-0 victory.
In the evening, they defeated Paarl Boys’ High, who had impressed in a 4-1 win over Waterkloof earlier in the day, by two goals to nil. With captain Owen Slack doing a sterling job in the centre of defence, trying to go the direct route against Westville is a low reward approach.
Glenwood were well beaten by Menlopark in the morning, going down 0-4, but they were better in their second game, although St Alban’s took the win in that one by a 2-0 margin.
u18
Menlopark 4-0 Glenwood
Westville Boys’ High 1-0 Pearson
DHS 5-1 St Alban’s College
Clifton College 1-1 Garsfontein
Paarl Boys’ High 4-1 Waterkloof
St Alban’s College 2-0 Glenwood
Pearson 4-0 Menlopark
Clifton College 2-1 Waterkloof
Westville 2-0 Paarl Boys’ High
DHS 1-0 Garsfontein
u16
DHS 5-1 St Alban’s College
Paarl Boys’ High 3-1 Waterkloof
Menlopark 2-2 Glenwood
Westville Boys’ High 1-3 Paarl Boys’ High
Clifton College 1-4 Waterkloof
DHS 2-1 Garsfontein
St Alban’s 2-1 Glenwood
Pearson 2-1 Menlopark
u14
Paarl Boys’ High 5-4 Waterkloof
DHS 2-2 St Alban’s College
Menlopark 4-4 Glenwood
Clifton 2-0 Garsfontein
Westville 4-0 Pearson
St Alban’s 4-1 Glenwood
DHS 1-0 Garsfontein
Pearson 2-1 Menlopark
Clifton 4-2 Waterkloof
Westville 4-0 Paarl
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