21 August 2024
Hilton College captured the title at the Kearsney Hockey 5s, powered by Belgotex Sport, on Saturday in Botha’s Hill, defeating Hoërskool Garsfontein 3-0 in the final.
The win by the boys from the Midlands was a reversal of an earlier 2-3 defeat against the Pretoria school. It was also a match that produced a change that provided Hilton with the impetus to win the title.
Hilton’s Director of Hockey, Devon van der Merwe, explained: “In our first game against Garsfontein, we tried to play too pretty, and we weren’t taking enough shots on goal. After game one against them, we decided there was too much structure, and it’s not the format of this game. It’s about expression, taking shots from anywhere.”
That decision served Hilton well. With the 5s format allowing shots to be taken from anywhere on the court, they let rip and scored some cracking goals from distance.
Teams that were prepared to have a go from range found themselves being rewarded, sometimes with direct goals, and other times with goals off of rebounds. It made for exciting entertainment and the good crowds were well rewarded for their support.
With SA u17 star Luken Brunette marshalling the defence well, Garsies were hard to break down. Eventually, though, Hilton broke through and it was their captain Regan Mudau (in feature photo) who led the way, netting their first two goals. A further goal, from Xavier Enslin, secured the trophy.
Clifton College claimed third place after edging out Michaelhouse in a penalty shootout for a second time during the event. The first time they met, the game finished 3-3 and Clifton won 1-0 in the shootout. In their second meeting, they shared a 4-4 draw before Clifton took the win from the spot by a 3-2 margin.
Having SA u16 goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter between the posts was certainly an advantage for the Durban school, and having Ryde Brisset, who will be representing the SA u17 side at the Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia later this year, to handle the penalty shootouts was another positive for coach Calvin Price.
Like Devon van der Merwe, Price welcomed the opportunity for some competitive but fun end-of-season competition.
“I think hockey 5s suits us,” he said. “I think we are very good individually going forward, which is quite nice. It’s always nice to have a good ‘keeper in goals. That makes a massive difference. But we like to express ourselves, and I think that’s what we did.”
Michaelhouse showed that the big improvements of the past season were no mirage. They have come on in leaps and bounds and, in fact, got one over Hilton in pool play, claiming a hard-fought 2-1 win. They played aggressive, confident, attacking hockey and the impact of Nick Bérichon‘s coaching has been plain to see and effective.
Fifth place went to the hosts, Kearsney College, who raised their game on the second day and twice defeated their local rivals, Westville Boys’ High in a repeat of the 2023 final. In their second meeting, it went down to a tension-filled penalty shootout, with Kearsney winning 4-3 from the spot after the teams had shared a 3-3 draw.
The Griffin were the defending champions, but they had lost the core of their defensive unit, which had played a crucial role in their title-winning campaign of 2023. They did, though, comfortably handle Hilton, recording their best result of the event when they beat the boys in black and white 4-1.
St Alban’s College took seventh place with a 5-1 win over Ashton College.
Girls’ High Schools
In the girls’ competition, Danville Park Girls’ High, who were the beaten finalists in 2023, lifted the silverware this time around, but it was far from a simple path to the title.
They were convincingly beaten by St Mary’s DSG in pool play, with Saints cruising to a 5-1 win. Credit to Danville, though, they took their lumps, learnt their lessons, and were up for the title-decider, raising their intensity to meet the St Mary’s challenge.
The teams ended regulation time at 1-1. Then, in the shootout, Danville quickly sealed the title with a 1-0 victory from the spot.
Boys’ Primary Schools
The biggest component of the Kearsney Hockey 5s was the primary schools’ event, which brought together 12 teams. Unlike the high school competition, there was no trophy on the line. Rather, the focus was on learning how to play in tournaments, making friends, and having fun.
Kearsney College has nailed down the format of including girls’ high schools and boys’ primary schools in their events – the recent Kearsney Soccer Tournament was another fine example of this – and they’ve done a great service in helping to grow the game, including for teams from development and disadvantaged backgrounds.
BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
Friday
Clifton 8-0 Ashton
Hilton 2-3 Garsfontein
Kearsney 8-1 St Alban’s
Clifton (1) 3-3 (0) Michaelhouse
St Alban’s 1-7 Garsfontein
Hilton 8-1 Ashton
Clifton 6-3 Kearsney
Michaelhouse 1-2 Westville
Garsfontein 2-1 Westville
Kearsney 1-5 Michaelhouse
Clifton 4-3 Westville
Kearsney 2-7 Garsfontein
Westville 6-2 Ashton
Hilton 6-1 Clifton
Garsfontein 6-2 Ashton
Michaelhouse 3-2 St Alban’s
Saturday
Michaelhouse 7-0 Ashton
Westville 1-3 St Alban’s
Kearsney 2-3 Hilton
Garsfontein 3-0 Clifton
Michaelhouse 2-1 Hilton
Ashton 2-5 St Alban’s
Kearsney 4-2 Westville
Garsfontein (1) 1-1 (0) Michaelhouse
Clifton 3-0 St Alban’s
Kearsney 14-0 Ashton
Westville 4-1 Hilton
Playoffs
St Alban’s 5-1 Ashton (7th/8th)
Kearsney (4) 3-3 (3) Westville (5th/6th)
Clifton (3) 4-4 (2) Michaelhouse (3rd/4th)
Hilton 3-0 Garsfontein (1st/2nd)
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