A Section IPT Clashes Loom

 

The dominant form exhibited by the top two provincial hockey squads, current champs Western Province and their Highveld nemesis Southerns, has once again pitted the two against each other in the championship final of the 2007 SPAR Hockey IPT  on Friday.

And while both repeat title contenders had already qualified for the final prior to today’s completing pool matches, there was no let-off in their final pool-stage fixtures, as their unbeaten record in this year’s tournament continued.

 

But before they entered the day’s battle, Northern Gauteng was stretched to the limits by a resolute KwaZulu-Natal,  who opened up a three-one lead at the half-time whistle, but conceded for goals to one in the final part to loose 5-4.

 

Northerns opened the action in the fourteenth minute field goal by Dani Forword, but KZN’s Terri-Lee Chelin equalised the very next minute to raise the ante, and when Kerry Gaze and Cindy Brown scored within five minutes of each other, the writing looked to be on the wall for the Pretoria-based squad.

 

 

But coach Greg Hesom’s motivation during the mid-match break brought about three goals in thirteen minutes without reply, with a Marcelle Keet goal followed by those of Grizelle Andries and another for Forword, for a 4-3 lead to Northerns.

 

Not about to give in, Cindy Brown settled matters at four-all with her second success, but Northerns managed a final score by Emma Finlayson for an extra-time win.

 

This result positions the two teams for a mouth-watering re-match in Saturday’s bronze-medal play-off, and Jen Wilson’s team will be keen to overturn any perceptions that the Natalians have not performed to optimum potential in this year’s honours race.

 

 

In the remaining matches of the day Southern Gauteng fielded their first-choice squad in a battle against Eastern Province, and converted a disappointing 1-0 half-time score into a 4-0 victory for an unbeaten record, despite close calls against Western Province and Northerns.

 

In their final match, hosts WP clouted KZN Midlands 8-0 for the A Section’s second-largest score-line, with Friday’s Player of the day Cindy Brown slotting her team’s seventh in the effort. Kate Hector’s team will surely go into Saturday’s final as favourites to return the silverware to their cupboard.

 

Championship Section Results:
Northerns 5 (1) – 4 (3) KwaZulu-Natal
Southern Gauteng 4 (1) – 0 (0) Eastern Province
Western Province 8 (5) – 0 (0) KZN Midlands

 

A Section Log:
WP   13
SG    13
NOR  9
KZN   6
MID    3
EP      0
 
Championship Tournament Schedule and Results:
Day 1 Monday 20/08/2007
14:00 MID 2-1 EP
15:40 KZN 0-3 SG
17:20 NOR 1-3 WP
         
Day 2 Tuesday 21/08/2007
14:00 MID 0-3 SG
15:40 NOR 3-1 EP
17:20 KZN 1-3 WP
         
Day 3 Wednesday 22/08/2007
14:00 KZN 5-1 EP
15:40 MID 1-6 NOR
17:20 SG 1-1 WP
         
Day 4 Thursday 23/08/2007
14:00 SG 3-2 NOR
15:40 EP 0-10 WP
17:20 MID 0-6 KZN
         
Day 5 Friday 24/08/2007
14:00 NOR 5-4 KZN
15:40 SG 4-0 EP
17:20 WP 8-0 MID
         
Day 6 Finals Saturday 25/08/2007
9:50 KZN Midlands vs Eastern Province (A Section 5th Place Play Off)
11:40 Northerns vs KwaZulu-Natal (A Section 3rd Place Play Off)
15:20 Western Province vs Southern Gauteng (A Section Final)

Legend:
Eastern Province: EP  
KwaZulu-Natal: KZN  
KwaZulu-Natal Midlands: MID  
Northerns: NOR
South Gauteng: SG  
Western Province: WP

Player of the Day:
Cindy Brown (Western Province)