The battle for the second spot in next week’s Varsity Hockey final will go down to the wire after Maties and Kovsies ended the second round of action with convincing wins on Monday night.
Maties’ Proteas stars Illse Davids and Quanita Bobbs were instrumental in their team’s 3-2 win against the University of Johannesburg, before a well-rounded performance ensured a bonus point for Kovsies in their resounding 5-0 victory over Wits.
Pukke, who drew their match against Tuks, remains in the first position on the log, and has already secured their place in the final. The result means that Tuks lost ground in the tight battle for the second spot, sliding down to fourth.
The Maties match showcased the value of having international players in the line-up as the skill and experience of Proteas Davids, Bobbs and Farah Fredericks kept their team on the front foot for the majority of their match against UJ at the UJ hockey fields.
The Stellenbosch team ended the first chukka with a well-deserved 2-0 lead, thanks to an own goal and a pearler by Davids.
Davids ensured a three-goal lead when she finished off a brilliant counter-attacking move, and it seemed UJ had no way back. But the team from Johannesburg refused to follow that script, fighting back and scoring twice in the final three minutes of the match.
Maties would be disappointed with the way they lost focus in the final chukka, after a wonderful showing of skill, patience and intent in the first two periods. They will also rue the absence of a fourth goal, which would have secured a bonus point.
This might cost them, especially considering that Kovsies did get the bonus point against Wits in front of their home fans.
Once again the national under-21 captain Izelle Lategan cut an inspirational figure for the Free State team, while Tanya Brits was also impressive. But the whole Kovsies team deserves credit for a performance which completely shut the Witsies out of the game.
The Pukke game once again showcased the considerable talents of Protea striker Sulette Damons, who scored her team’s only goal against Tukkies with a wonderfully accurate backstick shot in the sixth minute.
The team looked flat when she was given a breather late in the first chukka, allowing Tuks back in the game. The Pretoria women grew in stature as the match proceeded, as their initial butterflies subsided, and dominated the second period of play. This resulted in a well-worked goal for Janie Porteous.
Tuks goalkeeper Phumelela Mbande was once again one of her team’s standout players, making some wonderful saves. The Pretoria team will however rue the one goal she did let through, as it saw them slip down to fourth spot, and four points behind the second placed Kovsies.
UCT recorded their first win of the competition with a dominant victory of 3-0 over NMMU.
The competition concludes at the University of Pretoria next week. The last round-robin matches will take place on Sunday, with the play-off matches on Monday.
Monday’s results:
UCT 3, NMMU 0
Maties 3, UJ 2
NWU-Pukke 1, Tuks 1
Kovsies 5, Wits 0.
Next Sunday’s fixtures: 14:30: Kovsies vs UJ; 16:00: Wits vs Maties; 17:30: Pukke vs UCT; 19:00: Tuks vs NMMU.
* The last two matches will be aired live on Supersport 5.
