The hosts, Hilton College, Maritzburg College, and Edendale Technical High achieved significant victories on Saturday, the first day of the Jody Momplé FA Cup, while Michaelhouse, the two-time defending champion, won one and lost one in Group E.
With that narrow 3-4 defeat to Umvuzo, Michaelhouse’s hopes of a third consecutive title evaporated. They’ll contest the Plate on Sunday, starting with a quarterfinal clash against Treverton.
Three-time winners, Hilton College, cruised to a 5-2 win over Grace College in their opener, but found Riverwood College a far tougher nut to crack, claiming a narrow 1-0 win in their second outing.
They face a formidable challenge in the quarterfinals, where they will take on the KwaZulu-Natal High Schools Football Association (KZNHSFA) Inland A-League winner, Edendale Technical High. Playing in Group B, Edendale beat Etham College 2-0 and Howick High 4-2.
St Charles College topped Group C, beating Weston Agricultural College 4-0 and Nomaswazi High 2-0 to head into their quarterfinal showdown with ML Sultan Secondary with two clean sheets. Nomaswazi swamped Weston 5-0 in the group’s other game.
ML Sultan scraped into the Cup quarterfinals. After a narrow 3-2 defeat of Kokstad, they faced Haythorne Secondary, who had beaten Kokstad 2-1. A tight contest finished in a goalless draw, but ML Sultan ensured they would contest the Cup with a heart-stopping 4-3 win from the penalty spot.
Umvuzo, apart from their win over Michaelhouse, also outplayed St Nicholas Diocesan School 6-0. Their reward is a challenging quarterfinal match against Carter High. Carter romped to a 7-1 win over Treverton College and a narrow 1-0 win over Linpark in Group F.
In the remaining Cup quarterfinal, a Pietermaritzburg derby awaits. Maritzburg College, 7-0 winners over Wartburg and 2-0 winners over Newton, takes on Alexandra High.
Alex, the Group H winner, scored a 4-0 win over Greytown and repeated that emphatic victory against Maritzburg Christian School (MCS).
RESULTS
Saturday, 29 August
Group A
Hilton 5-2 Grace
Riverwood 3-1 Grace
Hilton 1-0 Riverwood
Group B
Edendale 2-0 Etham
Etham 3-1 Howick
Edendale 4-2 Howick
Group C
St Charles 4-0 Weston
Nomaswazi 5-0 Weston
St Charles 2-0 Nomaswazi
Group D
ML Sultan 3-2 Kokstad
Haythorne 2-1 Kokstad
ML Sultan (4) 0-0 (3) Haythorne
Group E
Michaelhouse 4-0 St Nicholas
Umvuzo 6-0 St Nicholas
Umvuzo 4-3 Michaelhosue
Group F
Carter 7-1 Treverton
Treverton (4) 1-1 (2) Linpark
Carter 1-0 Linpark
Group G
Maritzburg College 7-0 Wartburg
Newton 3-0 Wartburg
Maritzburg College 2-0 Newton
Group H
Alex 4-0 Greytown
MCS 2-1 Greytown
Alex 4-0 MCS
