HIGHWAY rivals, Westville Boys’ High School’s and Kearsney College’s first hockey teams, two of the best sides in the province, played to a thrilling 1-1 draw to a packed crowd at the Mason Astro at Kearsney College on the weekend.
The game started at a high tempo with both teams trying to take control early on. WBHS had most of the possession in the early stages with an early green card received by Kearsney. Kearsney soon started creating their own chances, with four penalty corners in the first half to WBHS’s one. The highlight was a fantastic stick save by WBHS’s goalkeeper, Keagan Moxey.
Both teams created good chances through some great build-up play but poor finishing cost them and the scores remained level at the break 0-0.
Both teams started the second half in a similar vein to the first with little few clear-cut chances. WBHS was down a man early with Lethu Thomo booked for two minutes with just a few minutes on the clock. Kearsney failed to capitalise on their man advantage and WBHS got themselves back into the game with two penalty corners, which were both poorly-executed by the attacking team. WBHS found themselves slightly hard done-by when Mbuso Mgobozi went one on one with Kearsney’s goalkeeper, Gareth Phillips, who brought down the WBHS striker in what seemed to be a clear stroke.
After consulting, the umpires decided to award a penalty corner as well as punish Lethu Thomo with a yellow card in a confusing minute. The penalty corner was again poorly executed and scores remained 0-0. With six minutes left, WBHS gave away the ball cheaply in midfield and Kearsney counter-attacked effectively, ending with a well-taken goal by striker, Luke de Vlieg, to put the home side 1-0 up. WBHS pushed hard to find an equaliser and dominated possession in the final few minutes. This pressure paid off with a final chance from a penalty corner. WBHS held their nerve with captain, Matthew Davies, slotting home the goal with just seconds remaining on the clock.
It was a good but tough start to the season for both teams, who will be equally tough to beat as the season goes on.
