25 September 2024
(Feature photo: Westville Boys’ High on Facebook)
Matters became interesting for KwaZulu-Natal’s challengers at the Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament over the long weekend even before they played their first match. A nerve-wracking journey over Van Reenen’s Pass as an icy cold and snow closed on the province made for an ominous start to the challenges of Westville Boys’ High, Durban High School (DHS), and Glenwood.
Not to bury the lede (look it up, that’s the correct spelling), but only Westville made serious noise in Bloemfontein.
Unfortunately, for DHS and Glenwood, it was a tournament to forget. Up against a high-quality field and playing on hard and fast surfaces at Grey College in the Free State capital, they didn’t play up to their ability and finished well down the standings.
Westville, however, started brightly, which was a welcome introduction, given that last year, at the same tournament, they lost four matches by a single goal margin.
Playing in Group C, they scored a 2-0 win over a useful Norkem Park High team in their opener and then bounded to a 3-0 win over St Andrew’s School.
DHS, in a very tough Group A, went down 0-3 to the hosts, Grey College, in their first outing on Saturday. There was a slight improvement in their second match, but they were beaten 3-1 by George Royal Academy. The Horseflies scored their first point in the last game of the day, drawing 3-3 with Victoria Park.
Glenwood, playing in Group B, started off with a win, defeating Parktown Boys’ High 2-1. Next time out, however, they fell 1-3 to Wynberg Boys’ High, who would go on to finish third.
The following day, the Green Machine suffered a narrow 0-1 loss to Jeppe and, then, drew 1-1 with Curro Bloemfontein.
DHS, meanwhile, scored a good 3-1 win over Pretoria Boys High, who had beaten the defending champions, St Stithians, 2-0 the previous day. That counted for nothing, however, when they faced Saints later in the day, and the Johannesburg side cantered to a 5-1 win.
In Group C, local side, Navalsig, stopped the Westville train, recording a 2-1 win, but the Griffin bounced back, beating St David’s Marist Inanda 3-2 before completing their pool assignments with a 4-1 success against Bloemfontein South.
On day three, DHS and Glenwood were in action in the Bowl quarterfinals. DHS cruised to a 4-1 win over Curro Bloemfontein, but Glenwood suffered a perplexing 0-4 setback against Victoria Park.
School went down 1-2 to KES in their next playoff clash, leaving them to face Victoria Park for 19th place. Glenwood failed to get over their shocking loss to Victoria Park and were beaten 3-2 by Bloemfontein South in their next outing, which meant they would tackle Curro Bloemfontein for 23rd place.
Westville had qualified for the top tier of the competition, and they faced Group D winners, Robinvale, for a place in the Cup semi-finals. The Cape Town crew had their measure, though, and the Griffin’s challenge for the title ended with a 0-2 defeat.
Later, Grey College beat Westville 2-1, leaving the Griffin to face Brebner in the playoff for seventh place.
On Tuesday, the final places were decided. Playing early, Glenwood fell 1-3 to Curro Bloemfontein to finish 24th. Victoria Park edged out DHS 1-0, leaving the Horseflies in 20th.
To complete a disappointing last day for the KZN trio, Westville also lost. A 1-2 defeat against Brebner left them eighth overall. However, some perspective is needed. Westville’s line-up featured only one boy in matric. There is superb quality in their ranks and their best is, surely, yet to come.
Grey College finished fifth after a 2-0 win over Navalsig. Wynberg took third, beating Kimberley Boys’ High 5-4 from the penalty spot after they had shared a 2-2 draw, and St Stithians, who had lost their first two matches, pulled off a stunning turnaround, coming from a goal down to Robinvale to win the prestigious event for a second year in succession.
Leave a Reply