U21 IPT Semifinalists Gear Up for Gold

North West put out an ominous message on Thursday, when they beat perennial favourites Kaspersky Southerns 2-1 in Durban in their final pool-stage fixture, on Day 5 of the 2013 U21 Women’s Hockey Interprovincial Tournament.

Southerns led 1-0 at the turnaround, but Pool A leaders North West rose to the occasion to claim top spot – and the potentially easier route to the tournament gold-medal match, in their Friday semi-final against runners-up in Pool B, the Northern Blues.

The Blues beat WP Peninsula 5-0 in their final pool match to earn the three points that eased them past Free State and into medal-winning contention, while the Bloem-based outfit did well to hold a powerful Western Province to a 0-0 halftime score, before conceding the critical second-half goal that simultaneously eliminated the plucky team from the semifinals.

In their semifinal, Kaspersky Southerns are faced with a do-or-die mission against Western Province in their quest to emulate their senior team’s provincial success at 4:30pm this afternoon, while the coastal ladies are likely to gain confidence from the Highveld team’s stop-start performances in this year’s tournament.

The final match of the day pitches a top-form North West outfit up against the Northern Blues, who are likely to add home-ground support to the confidence gained after Thursday’s comfortable win.

The easy money will be on a Saturday final between the form teams, log-leaders Western Province and North West – each virtually undistinguisable based on their tournament form, but knock-out matches always bring more to the table than paper-based predictions, and Friday’s action is sure to be decided as much by heart as by talent.