Contenders Slug It Out

 

 

It’s hard to believe how the action could get more intense, as the SPAR Hockey Inter-Provincial tournament being played at the Hartleyvale Hockey Stadium in Cape Town sees the teams line up after three matches each.

 

In the first match of the championship division, day two Player of the Day and national captain Jen Wilson lead her home side KwaZulu-Natal to a defiant victory over Eastern Province.

In a commanding display of talent, KZN sunk three goal before half-time and five in the game, against a lone second-half goal for Eastern Province, who will be smarting from three consecutive losses.

 

 

 

The mid-afternoon encounter between Northerns and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands was another bloody affair, with the Pretoria girls also netting three times before the half-time whistle, and returning for another three in the second half, while conceding a sole second-half goal.

 

Championship division top-seeds Southern Gauteng and defending champs playing hosts Western Province clashed in the evening’s final draw, and a likely Saturday afternoon final tie didn’t fail to whet the appetite.

 

Though pretenders to the throne Southern Gauteng were lead by Player of the Day Marsha Marescia to strike first to lead by one goal at half-time, Western Province consolidated to return the blow in the second half, giving nothing away in a 1-all deadlock.

 

After day three, Southern Gauteng and Western Province lead the leaderboard, which indicates a most likely repeat of the 2006 final, but Northerns will be cautioning against them being counted out too early.
 
Championship Section Results:
KwaZulu Natal 5(3) -1 (0) Eastern Province
Northerns 6(3) – 1 (0) KZN Midlands
Southern Gauteng 1 (1) – 1 (0) Western Province
 
A-Section Log:
SG   7
WP  7
NOR 6
KZN  3
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 vs NOR
15:40 EP vs WP
17:20 MID vs KZN
         
Day 5 Friday 24/08/2007
14:00 NOR vs KZN
15:40 SG vs EP
17:20 WP vs MID
         
Day 6 Finals Saturday 25/08/2007
9:50 Pos 5 vs Pos 6
11:40 Pos 3 vs Pos 4
15:20 Pos 1 vs Pos 2

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

Player of the Day:
Marsha Marescia  (Southern Gauteng)