A late goal from a penalty corner put the seal on a tough 3-1 Varsity Hockey victory for Kovsies over Maties.
The UFS outfit became the first team to score in the powerplay in the tournament and also showed good defensive strength to hold the competitive Maties off at Wits on Monday.
It was high-tempo stuff from the start as both teams moved the ball around well and probed for openings, with the best opportunities coming for Maties through some pinpoint long balls from Dylan Swanepoel.
Kovsies were being starved of possession as Maties tightened their hold on the game, but they could not find a way through as the Bloemfontein side held firm on defence in a goalless first chukka.
The Bloemfontein side had the powerplay at the start of the second chukka and they took advantage immediately as AB Ras deflected a good pass into the back of the net to put them 1-0 up.
That opened the game up nicely as Maties were forced to look for a goal with two players down which gave Kovsies a real chance to make the most of their numerical advantage.
They continued to keep the pressure on, with a number of shots at the Maties goal, and with five minutes left in the second chukka they doubled their lead, with Keyaya Jack deflecting a booming long ball from Rogan Jones into the net.
Maties responded by winning the first penalty corner of the game after a strong run into the area, but they could not convert and Kovsies took a 2-0 lead into the second break.
The Stellenbosch side had their powerplay at the start of the final chukka, and at two goals down they had no option but to come out firing. Ras was shown a yellow card right at the end of the powerplay but Maties could not trap the ball at the penalty corner.
Maties looked more desperate as the clock ticked down, and they finally found the back of the net with just two minutes to go when Shannon Boucher deflected a ball past the goalkeeper.
That set up a tense finish as Maties pressed for the draw, but they were left disappointed as Kovsies’ Liaan Bloemhof scored from a late penalty corner to deny them a bonus point.
Kovsies’ Ian Finlay was named FNB man of the match, his teammate Cheslin Neethling was Samsung Super Striker and goalkeeper Kurt Hensworth was the Mugg and Bean Star Saver.
