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By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


Varsity hockey kicks off with a bang

The opening leg of the Varsity Hockey men's season kicked off at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg on Saturday, with eight teams from universities around the country taking one another on.


In the opening match, UFS-Kovsies secured a 2-1 victory over NMMU’s Madibaz, with Alfred Hensburg scoring the decisive goal right at the end.

The result was a bitter pill for the Kovsies, but their performance showed that they are definite contenders in the competition.

UP-Tuks and UCT went into half-time deadlocked at 0-0 in the second match of the day, but it was ultimately UP-Tuks who emerged victorious.

A fabulous second half saw Matthew Guise-Brown and Andrew Buckley score to secure a 2-0 victory for UP-Tuks, with Guise-Brown receiving the Super Striker award for his opening goal.

Later in the day, UJ proved too strong for Rhodes in clinching a 7-1 win. UJ’s Clinton Panther, who has represented SA’s national team 69 times, scored a stunning goal in the second half of the match to cement UJ’s win.

But it proved a disappointing end to the day for Wits, who were unable to secure a victory on home ground. Despite a strong start from the hosts, together with some brilliant goalkeeping, it was Maties who emerged clear 5-1 victors.

Man of the Match awards went to Jason Maclachlan (UFS-Kovsies), Richard Pautz (UP-Tuks), Gareth Heyns (UJ) and Jordan Turnbull (Maties)

The opening game on Sunday starts at 11am and Monday’s action gets under way at 1.30pm.

Sapa

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hockey Other sport Wits University (Wits)

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