3 May 2023
The 2023 hockey season began with a series of defeats for Glenwood, but a successful showing in the Kingswood College Hockey Festival, held in Makhanda (Grahamstown) over the long weekend, has placed the Durban school on the right track for the rest of the season.
Coach Luke de Bruyn’s side opened their account at the festival with a loss, however, going down 0-2 to Saint Andrew’s College, with the local school scoring twice early to secure the victory.
Important changes
However, during that defeat, Glenwood made a change or two that helped turn their fortunes around. De Bruyn said: “We just weren’t switched on from the start, which has been a bit of a problem for us throughout the season. It takes us a few minutes to wake up, and Saint Andrew’s really jumped on the ball there from the start.
“We changed our system of play and our press after the first chukka, just to try and take it to them and put them under a little bit of pressure, and it seemed to work. There were moments when it looked like we might sneak something, but they were just a little bit more clinical than us on the day.
“We didn’t deserve to win. We weren’t ready from the start, and that hurt us, but we managed to fix that after the Saint Andrew’s game, and make sure we were switched on from the start for the rest of the festival.”
Goal-scoring glut
In their next two matches, Glenwood found the back of the net eight times, defeating York High and Graeme College 4-0 respectively.
Then, against the hosts, Kingswood College, they fought back from going a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw. “We improved in terms of how we dealt with pressure,” De Bruyn said.
“Sometimes, in past games this season, we crumbled. In the Kingswood game specifically, we started 0-1 down and we were chasing the game, and we had a few moments of brilliance, and then one in particular on the counter-attack, where the boys really stepped up and showed their class, scoring a good team goal.”
“The Kingswood game was a big performance for us,” he added. “The atmosphere created at Kingswood by their supporters is big and gives them a home ground advantage. That was our best game. It was also the most exciting match for us.
“Kingswood missed some crucial chances, which sometimes is what you need, that bit of luck. We also missed some chances off of penalty corners. The boys really pulled through and showed potential.”
In their last outing, against Glenwood House School, Glenwood claimed their third victory of the festival, running out 2-0 winners.
Progress and “good preparation”
“It feels as if we have turned a corner and made some progress. It feels like good preparation for the weekend, and for the next four weekends, because we have College, Kearsney, then Clifton, and then it’s Hilton on Old Boys’ Day,” De Bruyn said.
“It was really good, just to start building a little bit of confidence. Losing is a habit and so is winning, so it feels like we are slowly getting into the winning habit, and it bodes well for us for the really big games coming up.”
Competition in KwaZulu-Natal is high level, however, and there are no days off, as De Bruyn acknowledged: “The beauty and the curse of playing against other top schools in KZN is every weekend is a hard weekend.”
Intensity and desire
He’s feeling more optimistic, though, that better days lie ahead because he saw greater intensity and desire from his charges, which is something he has addressed all season with them.
“We can do only so much in terms of how we structure our training sessions, with the tactical decisions. We can’t go out and play for the boys. The desire and intensity have to come from them. They have to want it,” he explained.
He also lauded the contributions of the younger members of the Glenwood side: “We had a number of under-16s that came on tour,” he said. “They looked really good. Most of our under-16s got onto the scoresheet this past weekend, so that was really exciting, too.”
Concluding, De Bruyn said: “The boys are showing class and their capability and strong potential. We need to be seeing those sorts of things, so that we can continue to build until we find ourselves back at the top.
“We have shown moments of that in games, but this past weekend we were much more consistent, which is what we need.”
Results
Glenwood 0-2 Saint Andrew’s College
Glenwood 4-0 York High
Glenwood 4-0 Graeme College
Glenwood 1-1 Kingswood College
Glenwood 2-0 Glenwood House School
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