UJ took the Varsity Hockey title on home soil in Johannesburg by beating Maties in a dramatic penalty shootout.
It was sweet revenge for UJ who lost to Maties in controversial circumstances in Stellenbosch last week, but they were forced to work hard for it.
Maties took a 2-0 lead in the final, but UJ fought back valiantly and scored the only two goals in the shootout to take the title.
UJ had the first real chance of the game when a great ball from Brandon Panther was deflected towards the Maties goal, but it hit the post and bounced out.
Maties responded by surging upfield and taking the ball into the UJ D, but the home side got enough numbers back and managed to absorb the pressure.
The Stellenbosch side were dominating possession and it finally paid off as Shannon Bouchergot his stick on a powerful drive to deflect the ball into the net and give them a 1-0 lead just before the first break.
Maties had the powerplay at the start of the second chukka and Dylan Swanepoel produced a sensational individual goal as he bounced the ball on his stick and popped it past UJ goalkeeper Jason Briggs.
UJ were given some hope when Maties were reduced to 10 men with Matt de Sousa shown a green card and they capitalised immediately as Matt le Soua smashed a loose ball into the net to make it 2-1.
UJ kept the pressure on as they looked for an equaliser, but Maties held out well and took their one-goal lead into the second break.
UJ had the powerplay at the start of the final chukka and they threw everything at Maties in an attempt to draw level and the goal came from Gerald Mphopho who slammed the ball into the backboard after Maties goalkeeper Francois du Toit was caught out of position.
That meant it was anyone’s game in the final 15 minutes and Maties came storming back as they looked to regain the lead.
Maties were struck a blow when Boucher was shown a green card with just over two minutes to play and the teams remained locked on 2-2 until the final which took the game to a shoot-out.
The title was decided with one-on-ones with each player given eight seconds to beat the goalkeeper from the 22 metre line.
The first attmept from UJ skipper Gareth Heyns was saved by Du Toit, but Swanepoel put his effort wide for Maties as well.
The first to socre was UJ’s Clint Panther and when Mark Fourie’s effort went wide UJ were 1-0 up, with Taylor Dart’s goal sealing the win for UJ.
Gerald Mphopho was the FNB man of the match, Clint Panther was the Samsung Super Striker whilst Jason Briggs was named the Mugg and Bean Star Saver.
