Reddam House Constantia and DSG Makhanda threw down the gauntlet on the first day of the Fairtree Super 12 Tournament at Oranje on Thursday.
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DSG shrugged off the challenges of Oranje and St Cyprian’s on their march to pole position in Group A.
Reddam House, meanwhile, is headed for a top-two finish in Group C and a place in the quarterfinals after toppling the defending champion, Paarl Gimnasium, 3-1 in their first outing of the tournament.
Lucy Holderness recorded four goals across two matches to help DSG Makhanda climb to the summit in Group A, striking twice in the first seven minutes as DSG Makhanda downed Oranje 2-0.
Holderness fired DSG in front with a brilliant shot, off a short corner, three minutes into the tie. She, then, doubled her side’s lead four minutes later from the penalty spot. Coach Geowynne Gamiet‘s charges secured a second win in two games with a thrilling 3-2 victory over St Cyprian’s in their second match.
Holderness, who was in scintillating form, bookended the contest with goals in the first and final chukka. Emma Watson scored the other goal for DSG Makhanda, while Isabella Classen and Allison January netted for St Cyprian’s.
Rhenish moved into the top spot in Group B with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Menlopark in the final match of the day. Zoe Jacobs put them in front with a 22nd-minute strike, and that proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Earlier in the day, Menlopark and Herschel were forced to share points after playing to a tight 0-0 draw. The trio of results left Herschel in second place, while Menlopark is in third place, with an inferior goal difference.
The Group C leaders, Reddam House, had to fight their way back from a 0-1 deficit to claim victory. Paarl Gim was quickly out of the blocks and raced into a fourth-minute lead through Imke Koegelenberg. The title-holders would have felt comfortable that they were on track for a winning start to their successful title defence. But that wasn’t to be.
Jessica Bester drew Reddam House level two minutes into the second chukka, and Emma Hibbert put Reddam House in front after 21 minutes before Josephine Latham made it 3-1, 10 minutes later.
Paarl Gim recovered from their loss and cantered to a 2-0 win over Hoërskool Waterkloof later in the day, which left Gimmies in second place and Waterkloof in third.
Collegiate was the only team to secure a victory in Group D. In a tightly contested clash, the ladies from Gqeberha squeezed past Our Lady of Fatima, with a 23rd-minute strike from the penalty spot by Kerrin Gillies proving to be the lone goal of the game.
In their second match, Our Lady of Fatima squared up against their provincial compatriots, St Mary’s DSG Kloof. They took the lead through Miley Davidson, but Olivia Lord was on target for St Mary’s, and the game finished 1-1.
Results
Group A
DSG Makhanda 2-0 Oranje
DSG Makhanda 3-2 St Cyprian’s
Group B
Menlopark 0-0 Herschel
Rhenish 1-0 Menlopark
Group C
Reddam House 3-1 Paarl Gimnasium
Paarl Gimnasium 2-0 Waterkloof
Group D
Collegiate 1-0 Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima 1-1 St Mary’s DSG Kloof
