KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A produced a strong to performance to defeat a gritty Southern Gauteng B team and lay claim to third place at the u18 SASHOC National Week in Bloemfontein on Friday.
The KZN side shone in Pool B, winning all five of their group-stage games.
They opened their challenge with a 3-1 win over Eastern Province on Sunday.
On Monday, they had a double-header. They made light work of Northern Free State, scorching to an 8-1 victory as Elizabeth Anderson and Ruby Kraus scored two goals each. Then, a 1-0 win over Boland in the afternoon put them in the pound seats.
Further victories over Southern Gauteng B (1-0) and KZN Inland A (2-1) left Coastal the pool winners with a full haul of 15 points.
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Coach Jacinta Wedderburn lauded her girls’ performance. “It means so much. You know, we were discussing that at the end of seven games we had only one loss. That’s exceptional.
“The girls have played unbelievable hockey and they have done it together as a group, and that was our objective from day one: If we are going to this, we are going to it together,” she told SuperSport Schools Plus.
KZN Coastal was unbeaten until the semifinals. They played well and controlled much of their final four showdown with Northern Gauteng A, but the contest went to a penalty shootout after the teams deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation time. In the shootout, Northerns came away with a 3-2 victory.
That defeat set up KZN Coastal for a rematch with Southern Gauteng B, this time with third place on the line.
In cold and windy weather in Bloemfontein on Friday morning, they were made to work hard for their win. They made sure of it with a couple of fourth chukka goals.
After a goalless first chukka, Cassandra Forbes nailed a penalty corner nine minutes into the second chukka to give Coastal the lead. Then, in the 39th minute, Emily Macquet doubled their advantage.
The game was made safe when Tara Pakendorf struck in the 51st minute. Then, Ruby Kraus, one of the tournament’s top scorers, put the cherry on the top with a fourth goal, just a minute before the hour-mark.
“It was a fantastic game. The girls came out ready to play. We knew that whoever brought that kind of energy in the first five minutes would control of the game, and that’s exactly what the girls did. They came out hard and firing,” Wedderburn said.
Meanwhile, defeat for Lance Louw‘s brave South Gauteng B side left them in a highly commendable fourth place. They were beaten three times during the course of the event, with two of those coming against KZN Coastal and the other against their senior side, Southern Gauteng A, the champions.
KWAZULU- NATAL COASTAL RESULTS
Pool B
Eastern Province A 1-3 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A 8-1 Northern Free State
Boland A 0 -1 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A 1-0 Southern Gauteng B
KwaZulu-Natal Inland A 1-2 KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
Semi-finals
Northern Gauteng A 1-1 (3-2 SO) KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A
3rd/4th
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A 4-0 Southern Gauteng B
Vuyo Ndudane is a Sport Management and Journalism graduate from the Vaal University of Technology and the University of South Africa. She has experience as a content producer for Mhlobo Wenene FM sport show, currently working as a Sport Multimedia Controller, Researcher and multiple sport freelance writer under the wings of Sport Journalist. She admires Kyle Walker and Vinicius Jnr. She’s just a lover of sport and trying to change the perception of Women’s Sport in South Africa – one article a time.
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