Yes! We might have expected it, but it still delighted the hordes of fans at a packed Maties Astro Sunday night when the Maroon-shirted Maties Mean Machine and the Ikey Tigers of UCT met in the final clash of league action during what has been – and still promises to be – fabulous 2016 Varsity Hockey.
This was typical derby fare where reputations and the like count for nothing inside the pristine white lines of the immaculate Astro turf, and UCT came at their hugely fancied opponents as if their lives depended on it.
The final countdown tells us that Maties prevailed 3-0 but that stat doesn’t even begin to tell the full story of the thrills and spills that played out on the battleground.
Tempers flared on the bench, in the dugout and on-field but for the most part it was within the bounds of common decency and mutual respect that are hallmarks of this special sports code.
Rulings were debated, umpire calls were heatedly questioned and much, much more but the bottom line is that the Tigers’ brave bid to unseat Wits from a semi-final berth didn’t come to fruition.
In match-ups of this magnitude goals are usually scarce but Varsity Hockey 2016 has seen goalshots coming thick and fast, which hasn’t always reflected the closeness of the contests.
In hockey of the modern day, a team can be competitive for more than 80% of a match and still lose 5-1, which in football terms is a thrashing.
But we digress. Maties’ goals came from field play with Luke Schooling notching the first before Reece Arendse and the ever-present Pride of Bellville, Keenan Horne, nailed winner shots after the teams changed ends.
The upshot is that Maties head coach Ashlin Freddy and his world-rated High Performance consultant Paul Revington will be reviewing the videos and analysis so expertly put together by the outstanding Wayne Hendricks as they plot the way forward in what is sure to be a fiery 5pm Monday semi-final against University of Pretoria’s Tuks.
This is shaping up to be a classic North vs South slugfest of the highest order and you can bet your bottom dollar that the Maties fan club will be out in full force.
FNB Player of the Match: Keenan Horne (Maties)
Mugg & Bean Star Saver: Matthew Mc Kenchnie (UCT)
Samsung Super Striker: Keenan Horne (Maties)
