Beaulieu’s A team comes out on top against Wits side
BEAULIEU – In a heated encounter, Beaulieu men’s A-side walked away with a 6-1 victory against a strong Wits men’s side.
Beaulieu men’s A team is proud of four victories from four matches in the Southern Gauteng Hockey Association League after a strong showing against Wits on 9 April.
Beaulieu’s Dalpiarro Langford gave his team a 1–0 lead over Wits early in the first chukka via a penalty stroke. With possession being turned over a number of times by both teams, it was Beaulieu who scored again through the teamwork of Keanan Wax and Dianté Gordon to end the chukka 2–0 up.
The start of the second chukka saw a penalty corner for Wits expertly saved by Beaulieu goalie Sizwe Mthembu. Wax added a field goal for Beaulieu two minutes later to take the score to 3–0. Another penalty corner for Wits was saved by Mthembu, however, Tristan le Forrestier got his team on the scoreboard eights minutes in. In response, Beaulieu’s Travis Krumples extended the lead to 4–1.
The third chukka passed by without a goal conceded for either side due to good defensive play by both teams. Mthembu was at it again, saving two penalty corners.
In final 15 minutes, a field goal from South African hockey veteran, Julian Hykes stretched Beaulieu’s lead which was topped up by another strike from Wax for a 6–1 win.
Wits coach, Ricky West commended the efforts of Mthembu’s goalkeeping and said, “I think we played against a really strong team. We have a lot of new younger players who are being exposed to this level of playing and found themselves in the deep end often. Overall, we’re not really pleased with our performance,” he said.
Beaulieu coach, Allistar Fredericks said his side gave a clinical performance against a very strong Wits team. “The guys were very focused. With Wits being the current league champions, this is a good win for us,” he said.
“By far, Sizwe [Mthembu] had a great game, alongside Julian [Hykes] Reza Rosenberg, Gerald Mpopo, Fawaaz Kahder and captain Jesse Salo. “We put a lot of pressure on them when they had the ball.”
Beaulieu’s next fixture is against current the number-two team Wanderers on 13 May.
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