NWU-Pukke secured fifth place overall when they pipped Wits 2-0 in a Varsity Hockey play-off match at Wits on Monday.
The victory ensures Pukke finished their campaign on a high note after a very slow start with Wits ending the tournament in sixth place.
In the seventh/eighth place play-off match, NMMU were simply too strong for UCT as the Madibaz ended their campaign on a high, beating the Cape side 3-0 to ensure that UCT finish the competition without a single win to their names.
NWU-Pukke 2-0 Wits
Pukke wasted no time in asserting themselves on Wits and found immediate success when they grabbed the opening goal of the match. Wits proved to once again be a stubborn defensive team as they kept Pukke from adding to their tally at the end of the first quarter.
The tense affair continued in the second quarter with both sides providing a great advert for the game. Despite the great match, neither side was able to find the back of the net and Pukke maintained their slender lead at the half-time interval.
Wits were not out of the contest in the slightest and did well to keep themselves within a sniff of Pukke but just could not find the back of the net as they remained behind by a solitary goal at the end of the third quarter.
Pukke finally managed to extend their lead with 13 minutes remaining in the match after the managed to break through the stubborn Wits defence. Both sides pushed hard in the closing minutes to find more goals but it wasn’t to be as Pukke secured fifth place overall.
Mugg & Bean Star Save of the Match: Zimisele Shange (Wits)
Jet Strike of the Match: Stephanie Baxter (NWU-Pukke)
FNB Player of the Match: Celia Evans (NWU-Pukke)
NMMU 3-0 UCT
The match got off to a tense start, with both teams giving little away in a goalless opening quarter.
NMMU struck first in the second period, with their hard work eventually breaking the stubborn Ikeys defence down to give them a 1-0 advantage at half-time.
The Eastern Cape side doubled their lead in the third period as UCT started falling off the pace, and by the end of the third quarter the Madibaz had gone 3-0 up.
To their credit, UCT gave it absolutely everything in the final period in an attempt to fight their way back into the game, but they could not find the finishing touch and the match ended in a comfortable 3-0 win for the Madibaz.
Mugg & Bean Star Save of the Match: Taylor Karstens (UCT)
Jet Strike of the Match: Tristan Schroder (NMMU)
FNB Player of the Match: Lauren Nina (NMMU)
