The University of the Witwatersrand showed that they will be strong challengers for the Varsity Hockey men’s title currently held by hosts the University of Johannesburg as they beat the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 5-2 on Saturday.
Wits had the first say on the scoreboard as Brandon James tapped in from a Chad Futcher pass in the eighth minute, but the Port Elizabeth students nearly grabbed the equaliser in the 11th minute were it not for a good save at the short-corner by Quinton Kernot, the Wits goalkeeper.
The first quarter ended with Wits 1-0 up, but the scores were leveled just two minutes into the second chukka as the attacking skills of Ignatius Malgraff saw him break clear and Kevin Carroll got on the end of the cross from the international to poke it into goal.
Wits regained the lead in the 21st minute as Futcher, who ruled the midfield and was named the player of the match, squeezed the ball through the goalkeeper’s pads with a powerful, low flick from the short-corner.
There was disappointment for Madibaz in the 26th minute when Malgraff got on the end of a cross, but Kernot roared up quickly to close his space and the striker shot wide.
Madibaz again nearly equalised just after halftime when Malgraff again ripped through the often vulnerable Wits defence, but Kermot pulled off another excellent save and Jaryd Thomas tidied up off the line.
Futcher again came close to scoring from a 40th-minute short-corner but Grant Kapp glanced his flick away. But Wits continued to press and a searing run by Darren Till split the defence. He missed his reverse-sticks shot but the ball rolled on to Kamal Ramburuth-Hurt, who built the lead to 3-1 with a clinical finish.
Two goals for Sean Donaldson in the last three minutes saw Wits stroll to victory. The first goal came after a great long diagonal ball from Thabang Modise to Rusten Abrahams, whose half-saved shot fell to Donaldson to finish off.
Captain Stuart Philip then did great work to draw and beat the goalkeeper before passing to Donaldson to complete the scoring.
Malgraff scored in-between those two strikes with a breakaway goal but the spoils deservedly went to Wits.
FNB Player of the Match: Chad Futcher (Wits)
Mugg & Bean Star Saver: Quinton Kernot (Wits)
Samsung Super Striker: Kamal Ramburuth-Hurt (Wits)
By Ken Borland
