Action at the Varsity Hockey tournament continued, with UJ managing to notch up their first victory of this year’s campaign, when they picked a 7-0 win over Kovsies.
With both UJ and Kovsies searching for their first victory, the encounter was a rather cagey affair in the beginning with UJ enjoying a few more opportunities and possession. That spurred UJ on and they eventually found a breakthrough with 53 seconds remaining in the first quarter, when Courtney Halle drag flicked from the top of the circle, off a short corner, to give the orange army a 1-0 lead.
The second quarter saw UJ continue their good run, when they managed to find the back of the net, almost instantly when Che February maneuvered his way around the circle to find some space and finish well, to give UJ more space to breathe at 3-0. The rest of the quarter saw an evened out contest, with no one adding anything further to the scoreboard at halftime.
The second half in parts, belonged to UJ, but Kovsies also held their own, defending well and attacking when the opportunity presented itself. The score remained at 3-0 with one last quarter to go.
The fourth quarter was full of action, mostly involving the men from Johannesburg. Midway through the quarter, UJ were awarded a penalty flick, which saw Kovsies keeper LouFrans Esterhuizen block to keep his team in contention. Floods of UJ attack continued to enter the Kovsies circle, and eventually UJ skipper Kyle Lion-Cachet managed to direct a pass into the circle from the left-hand side, to increase his side’s lead to 5-0. Less than a minute later, UJ’s Raynor York pounced on a pass amongst a few Kovsies defender to score past Esterhuizen and see his team seal a well deserved 7-0 win.
Scores
UJ: 7
Goals: Courtney Halle, Che February, Kyle Lion-Cachet, Raynor York
Kovsies: 0
FNB Player of the Match: Brad Robertson (UJ)
Mugg & Bean Star Player: Matthew Martins (UJ)
Samsung Super Striker: Courtney Halle (UJ)
Teams
UJ: 1. Matthew Martins, 2. Brad Robertson, 4. Andile Ndlovu, 5. Kyle Lion-Cachet, 6. Michael Newland-Nell, 7. Chad Burke, 8. Courtney Halle, 9. Che February, 10. Spencer Botes, 11. Keegan Smith, 13. Ernest Jacobs
Subs: 15. James Gilbert, 16. Raynor York, 17. Jesse Martins, 18. Diego De Abreu, 20. Manessah Dube, 21. Gary Cooper, 23. Tristan Blackie-Roden
Kovsies: 1. Lou Frans Esterhuizen, 2. Andre Nel, 3. Egon Van der Merwe, 5. Raymond De Villiers, 6. Ryan Scheepers, 7. Matthew Ramos, 8. Willie Kruger, 9. Mpho Tsaoane, 10. Gerhard Van Bosch, 11. Justin Smouse, 13. Tiaan Weldhagen
Subs: 14. Stephan Van Vollenhoven, 15. Mvelase Mbombisa, 18. Cheslyn Neethling, 19. Shelton Mollentze, 21. Jan Willem Ras, 22. Tylor Oliver, 24. Luyolo Nkosana
By Sifiso Nyawo
