A SUNNY Durban day greeted the teams, coaches and spectators of the JAM Clifton water polo tournament on Sunday morning, where teams gathered to play their final matches.
First in the pool were Maritzburg College and Westville, seeing a persevering Westville team secure an 11-2 win, followed by a closely contested 6-6 draw between Kearsney and St Alban’s to claim 13th place. KES and the sponsor’s invitational team, JAM, battled it out for 11th and 12th, with the latter of the two KwaZulu-Natal teams coming out on top with 7 goals to 6. Next up were St David’s against Affies, who played a closely contested match for 9th place, seeing the two end in a 5-5 draw, before local lads DHS and Hilton claimed 7th and 8th place respectively.
The last three games of the day were provincial contests seeing Reddam take on Bishops, St Stithians battle it out against rivals, St John’s, and hosts, Clifton, up against local Durban boys, Glenwood, who debuted in the tournament this year.
Reddam and Bishops remained neck and neck throughout their game, ending on a 7-7 draw to seal a shared 5th place, ahead of St John’s securing a 10-4 win over local rivals, St Stithians, to claim 3rd place.
The final saw tournament hosts, Clifton, up against an unbeaten and impressive Glenwood team battle it out in front of a packed Aquatic Centre. It was a tense start, seeing the two teams marking fiercely.
Glenwood drew first blood, with a quick retaliation by Clifton’s Milne, bringing the score to 1-1. Another goal by each team saw the two teams level at 2-2 after the first chukka. The second chukka saw another two goals from Clifton and one by Glenwood, bringing the score to 4-3 at half-time.
Clifton opened up a gap during the third chukka with two goals, taking the total to 6-3. A determined Glenwood attack pulled back with two goals in quick succession to see the score to 6-5 by the end of the chukka. The final chukka was tense, seeing both teams find the back of the net alternately. With a minute to go and the score 9-8 in Clifton’s favour, the hosts managed to hold off an impressive Glenwood attack to secure the victory.
Tournament awards were handed to various players. Thomas Eichner from St Stithians was awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament, Massimo Conversano from Clifton was Best Defensive Player of the Tournament, Caleb Simpson from Clifton was Most Valuable Player of the Tournament and Dylan Cronje from Glenwood was Best Attacking Player of the Tournament.
