WP and Southerns Share Spoils

Although honours were even on the day Southerns probably shaded the statistics in terms of scoring opportunities created. And this will hold the

Johannesburg team in good stead when the two meet, with almost certainty, in the final on Saturday.

Much of the play in the opening half was concentrated in midfield where WP’s Kate Hector and Southerns’ Marsha Marescia were their usual dominant selves.

With the evergreen Lindsey Wright and Nita van Jaarsveld dictating play from the back for Southerns, the champions were hardly given a sniff at goal.

It was Southerns who forced the first penalty corner of the match in the 23rd minute, and then were rewarded for their attacking play seven minutes later. Catherine McNulty was the first to react when the ball rebounded off the upright from a free hit outside the circle.

WP had their only chance of the half in the closing minutes when Southerns’ Lisa Deetleefs was dispossessed on the halfway line by Ilse Davids. Davids made an excellent solo run into the Southerns circle, only to be thwarted by a rushing Mariette Rix.

WP were awarded their first penalty corner in the 56th minute, but it was none other than the speedy Marescia who blocked the final strike.

However, three minutes later the
Cape girls equalised with a penalty corner variation that had the Southerns defence at sixes and sevens, and Tarryn Bright got the final touch past a bewildered Leandri Janse van Vuuren.

Wright summed up the game perfectly afterwards. "

Western
Province defended for most of he first half, and then in the second they changed tactics and we ended up defending."

But Wright was more than satisfied with the result. "It was a big improvement from yesterday," said Wright. "You must remember we have seven new youngsters in our side, and they (WP) have 13 national players."

Earlier,
KwaZulu-Natal earned their first points and the dubious distinction of a first yellow card for a coach when they trounced

Eastern
Province 5-1. KZN coach Brendon Carolan received his "marching orders" after a few hostile words aimed at the umpire in the second half, and was required to sit at the technical table for a mandatory 10 minutes.

"It was just a build-up of frustration from yesterday’s game," said Carolan referring to his side’s 3-1 loss to defending champions

Western
Province on Tuesday. "It was the same umpire as yesterday."

The game itself was not as entertaining as the touchline side show with the Natalians almost scoring at will. The match was all but over as a contest at the break, with KZN 3-0 to the good after a goal from Kelly Madsen and two via the stick of striker Kerry Gaze.

Gaze was the difference between the two sides with her strong runs into the goal area. Her second was out of the top draw as she powered her way past EP defenders and unleashed a thunderbolt from the edge of the circle.

In contrast, the EP strikers lacked firepower, and only showed any kind of aggression early in the second half when Camilla Forbes’ back-stick effort went whizzing past the upright.

Forbes was eventually paid for her efforts in the closing minutes for her team’s consolation goal, but by then KZN had added another two field goals from Cindy Brown and Wanri Venter.

In other pool A action Northerns thrashed
Midlands 6-1.