More glory for St Mary's after hard-fought KZN Schoolgirls' Hockey Challenge final
Image: Rogan Ward
Host team St Mary's DSG maintained their dominance in the Grand Finals of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls' Hockey Challenge with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over St Anne's Diocesan College on a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon in Kloof that secured a seventh title.
They met St Anne's for the third time in the concluding game of the Grand Finals since the tournament's inception in 2011, with St Mary's winning both previous encounters in 2018 and 2019.
Off to a flyer
Setting the pace from the first whistle, the locals dominated the early stages of the match, penetrating the visitors' circle on several occasions before knocking in their goal. The first time they did so, St Anne's keeper Kgabiso Marafo had to scramble after she was caught lurking on the edge of her circle by a magnificent St Mary's break after three minutes.
Thankfully for the visiting keeper, a St Mary's shot from near the top of the D flew well wide of the goal.
Less than two minutes later, a sublime cross from the right by Tayte Stewart of St Mary's went through the legs of a defender, the goalkeeper and her own teammate at the far post.
Seconds later, Georgia Short of St Mary's was gifted the ball in front of the goals, and she calmly scooped the ball into the net, going one up after a phenomenal build-up of pressure by the home team.
Nearing half time, St Anne's earned a short corner. The injected ball flew to the top of the D before rocketing to the goals, but was magically stopped by the first wave. Given a second chance, St Anne's moved the ball right, beyond the first wave but in similar fashion, their attempt was blocked.
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Saving grace
St Mary's keeper, Ziyanda Mchunu, who hadn't seen much action throughout the weekend, did well to save a penalty stroke awarded to Holly Hofmeyer of St Anne's in the third minute of the second half. Hofmeyer boldly stepped up to the spot but unfortunately her attempt flew straight at Mchunu, who snuffed out the shot.
Spurred on by their attacking play, St Anne's mounted several more weaving attacks but the St Mary's defence stood firm. St Anne's, who were victorious in the very first Grand Finals, were denied a second victory in their fifth run for the trophy by a team who were on song from the get-go, defending their title valiantly.
'It was really a good experience. It helped us prepare for our top tour that is coming. I couldn't have asked for better opposition. They came hard. Tactically and collectively they're a good team, so we just had to dig a little deeper,' said St Mary's coach, Nolwazi 'Chicken' Nkabinde.
'I think the girls worked really hard in the final, with a lot of hard running. Great respect to St Annes, they were a very hard team to play against, very physical and very fast. We just kind of showed up a little more with the match temperament. I'm just really proud of everyone," said Nicola Forbes, the victorious home team's skipper.
Ashton International College, representing the Durban North Regional, enjoyed a fairytale return to the Grand Finals after a nine-year absence, when they finished third. They saw off Epworth School in the playoff.
Ashton fired in a missile just before half-time during a short corner, which whizzed past the keeper, giving them the edge over an excellent Epworth team.
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