19 August 2024
(Article by Marlowe Bloem)
Maritzburg College and Westville Boys’ High have been two of the stronger football sides in KZN for many years now, and it was time for another classic showdown between the powerhouses on Saturday in Pietermaritzburg.
They had met recently in the Primo Big 10 just a few weeks earlier, where College came from behind to record a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals.
It took some time for the deadlock to be broken in Saturday’s clash, but this time it was College who took the lead in the 23rd minute.
Playing down the right flank, they gave short passes through the line until the ball reached Philasande Khuzwayo in the middle. He took a touch, then cut inside to have a shot between the two centre backs. His effort rocketed in off the left-hand post and the Red, Black and White celebrated.
College is a well-drilled unit, and they demonstrated great chemistry in moving the ball around, often finding one another in space with their quick passes. Westville enjoyed some spells of possession, but struggled to unlock the host’s defence, barely creating a real scoring chance.
Halftime score: 1-0 in favour of Maritzburg College.
In the second half, though, the visitors equalised. With 52 minutes showing on the clock, a clumsy challenge resulted in a free kick to Westville on the right edge of the box.
Westville forward Blaine Engelbrecht stood over the ball and then delivered a waist-high in-swinging cross with his left boot to the near post. It took a deflection off a College defender and squirted over the line for a goal to the Griffin.
It took 10 minutes, but the home team found a reply. From a long penetrating pass from the back, Nzolo Ngcemu beat the Westville defenders to the ball, took a touch and beat the goalkeeper for College’s second. It was his first contribution after coming off the bench and it was decisive.
The game ended 2-1 in favour of Maritzburg College.
While Westville scored from a set piece, they found the College defence tough to break down and didn’t really threaten from open play. The hosts’ snappy and intelligent passing, meanwhile, produced many opportunities in Westville’s final third, which was key to their triumph over their rivals.
Next weekend, a feast of football is on the menu with the Pietermaritzburg and Midlands FA Cup set to attract the top talent from around KZN. Maritzburg College are the defending champions.
While Maritzburg College scored wins in the big 1st XI, u16A and u14A games, Westville took the honours in the u15A match and also claimed slightly more wins in the head-to-head, with eight victories to College’s five, while three matches ended in draws.
The match of the day was the u15B clash, which produced an astonishing 12 goals and a 7-5 scoreline in favour of Westville.
RESULTS
1st: Maritzburg College 2-1 Westville
2nd: Maritzburg College 1-2 Westville
3rd: Maritzburg College 1-3 Westville
4th: College Road FC 4-1 Westville
16A: Maritzburg College 1-0 Westville
16B: Maritzburg College 0-1 Westville
16C: Maritzburg College 4-3 Westville
16D: Maritzburg College 0-4 Westville
15A: Maritzburg College 0-1 Westville
15B: Maritzburg College 5-7 Westville
15C: Maritzburg College 3-3 Westville
15D: Maritzburg College 0-2 Westville
15E: St Benedict’s 4-1 Westville
14A: Maritzburg College 1-0 Westville
14B: Maritzburg College 1-1 Westville
14C: Maritzburg College 2-3 Westville
14D: Maritzburg College 1-4 Westville
14E: Curro Heritage 7-0 Westville
14F: Curro Heritage 1-1 Westville
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