Favourites Play to Clear Wins

 

The Championship section of the SPAR Inter-Provincial hockey tournament got underway in Cape Town on Monday afternoon, and event-opening fixture opponents, KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and Eastern Province, duly played to a nil-all draw at half-time, in a mirror of all three B-section matches that morning.
 

Shortly after half-time, KZN Midlands scored after a field goal by Linda McGregor, which Michelle Henwood doubled six minutes later, for an unbeatable 2-1 victory, despite a 56th-minute consolation goal for EP, courtesy Carey-Lee Raggaval.

 

Last year’s runners-up Southern Gauteng encountered Kwa-Zulu Natal in the afternoon’s second fixture, and made no bones about its intentions on reclaiming the silverware, when Lindsey Wright scored the opening first-half goal of the tournament from a Penalty Corner in the 22nd minute.

 

 

 

Anika Fischers field goal in the second half doubled Southern Gauteng’s lead, and in the 68th minute Nita van Jaarsveld put matters beyond the coastal team’s reach.

 

The IPT’s Day One ending fixture featured tournament hosts and defending champions Western Province against Highveld tourists Northerns, and they showed no hesitation by registering their first goal in the third minute, when Leigh Boardman put home a Penalty Corner.

 

Ilse Davids doubled the score from a field goal shortly before half-time, after which Northerns got onto the score sheet care of a field goal by Louisa Moore in the 42nd minute.

 

 

 

WP redoubled efforts for a 62nd field goal courtesy Megan Robertson, for an irrefutable first-day charge on the leaderboard, topped only by historic rivals Southern Gauteng on the Leaderboard.

Championship Section Log:
Team, Points, Goal Difference:
SG      3 +3
WP     3 +2
MID    3  +1
EP       0 -1
NOR   0 -2
KZN   0 -3

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 vs SG
15:40 NOR vs EP
17:20 KZN vs WP
         
Day 3 Wednesday 22/08/2007
14:00 KZN vs EP
15:40 MID vs NOR
17:20 SG vs 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