As the festive announcer so correctly bellowed, “Varsity Hockey does NOT accept draws!” Neither do the skillful players from North West University and University of Cape Town.
And so it was, as the titanic clash between the fearless Ikey Tigers of UCT and the proud Pukke from Potch hurtled towards an agonising … heart-stopping … penalty shootout, this after a disbelieving Killian Ludick saw his spectacular reverse-stick rocket cannon into the UCT crossbar – and stay out – in the last second of regulation play.
The final paragraph in the epic closing chapter of this extraordinary match reads as follows: A 2-2 score in regulation time, necessitating the shootout.
As is so often the case during these winner-takes-all occasions, there were heroes in both camps. Keepers Anton van Loggerenberg (UCT) and Pukke’s Schutte effected miraculous shootout saves; strikers like Essex Mbekeni (Pukke) showed nerves of steel worthy of high-noon duel time at 12 paces in the best spaghetti Westerns … but in the fabulous world of Varsity Hockey there can only be one winner.
It appeared as if Planet Earth’s axis had suddenly tilted towards one corner of the Maties Astro as hordes of Varsity Hockey fans emptied into the shootout zone in order to witness the drama, which Pukke won in sudden-death by the slenderest of margins. The shootout was all-square at 3-3. Sudden-death went 2-1 in Pukke’s favour.
It was three successful shootout strikes each, and two saves each, after the regulation five shootout attempts. In the sudden-death shootout that followed, the teams’ first attempts were successful, then Puk shot-stopper extraordinaire Lyndan Schutte blanked out UCT’s second attempt before a nerveless Gertjie Lamprecht stepped up to coolly slot the winner in a Varsity Hockey classic that didn’t deserve a loser.
It can be argued that this high-octane encounter probably went to the deserving team – if only because of Killian’s cannonball into the crossbar, but UCT can also lay claim to a win that got away, such was the ebb and flow.
In standard time, Essex Mbekeni (17th minute) and Francois Cilliers (57th) scored for Pukke while Greg Briton and Ross Schroeder netted for UCT.
FNB Player of the Match: Bjon Sorrensen (UCT)
Mugg & Bean Star Saver: Lynden Schutte (Pukke)
Samsung Super Striker: Sinoxolo Mbekeni (Pukke)
By Jonathan Cook
