It was a day of intense excitement and non-stop adrenalin at the University of Johannesburg today as they hosted the third round of this year’s Varsity Hockey programme. Teams from participating universities around the country converged on UJ Astro to shuffle the combinations for the semi finals, play off’s and finals, taking place at UJ this Sunday and Monday.
On the back of an exciting first two rounds, today’s action did not disappoint. First up were Rhodes as they took on Maties. After a tough match for all and a great effort from Rhodes, Maties once again emerged victorious with a 5-3 win which sees the team from Stellenbosch claim a place in Sunday’s semi-finals. UFS-Kovsies and UCT were next, with UCT scoring in the final minutes of the first chukka to take the lead 1-0. In what was a very physical game with big tackles and robust defence, UCT scored once more in the last minute to claim an exceptional 2-0 win against Kovsies.
The second half of the day saw NMMU’s Madibaz and Tuks go head to head, ending the first chukka 0-0. But within the first three minutes of the second chukka, UP-Tuks scored to take the lead with a great goal. By the end of the second chukka the team from Pretoria were 2-0 up, ultimately securing themselves a place in tomorrow’s semi-finals with a 4-0 win against the Madibaz.
The last game of the day saw a Gauteng Derby with the home side of UJ taking on the team from Wits. With the first chukka ending in a 1-0 lead for the home team, the powerful UJ side went on to secure a smashing 7-2 victory over derby rivals Wits. UJ, now top of the log at the end of round three, will play fourth placed UFS-Kovsies in tomorrow’s semi-finals.
FNB’s Man of the Match awards went to Wayde Guedes, Rhodes; Grant Robertson, UCT; Matthew Guise-Brown, UP-Tuks and Gerald Mopopo, UJ.
With two more days of non-stop and explosive hockey action to look forward to, get yourself down to UJ to witness the excitement first hand. Play-offs for the last four positions will commence at 11h00 and 12h45 on Sunday, followed by the semi-finals between UP-Tuks vs Maties at14h30 and UJ vs UFS-Kovsies at 16h15. Monday will see the play off for positions three and four at 17h00, with this season’s final taking place at 18h45.
For those living further afield, be sure to watch all the drama unfold by following non-stop Varsity Sports action on SuperSport channel 210, broadcast live from UJ this Sunday and Monday.
