A goal in the fourth quarter by dangerman Keegan Le Roux sealed a gritty 1-0 victory for Grey High School over Grey College in Bloemfontein on Friday night.
The boys from Gqeberha were made to work hard for the win after failing to capitalise on several goal-scoring opportunities in the first half.
It was the visitors’ first match back in action after many of their players represented Eastern Province at inter-provincial tournaments during the school holidays. Although coach Andrew Beynon’s charges dominated most of the encounter, linking up well, they lacked execution in the final third.
Just when it looked as if the contest would end in a goalless draw, SA Schools star Le Roux delivered the goods in the fourth chukka, sealing the win for Grey High.
They’ll be off for a week before hosting Selborne College in their final match of the season.
Coach Beynon and his coaching staff will have selection headaches, though, heading into that season finale. That’s because half of their squad will be on international duty, with several SA Schools tours happening in August.
Le Roux heads to Kenya to compete in the Africa Cup, where South Africa will attempt to qualify for the FIH Hockey Fives World Cup.
Dale Jennings turns out for the SA u18A side at the SA u21 Inter-Provincial Tournament, which takes place in Gqeberha.
Meanwhile, Dante Elkington and James Chree, who were selected for the SA u17 side, head north for a series against Zimbabwe.
Grey also has some U16 players in the national setup, so they’ll need to make good use of their week off to plan for the Selborne game.
The KuGompo City school, meanwhile, visited Komani, where they continued their winning streak in the Eastern Cape with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Queen’s College.
Coach KJ Friend‘s outfit had to dig deep, but a strike by Inathi Gxobole in the third quarter sealed the win. Matters were far easier last weekend, when they outplayed Hudson Park High 9-0.
Stirling High faced Hudson on Friday and also won comfortably, recording a 6-1 victory.
In his 50th 1st XI appearance, Skylar Ganda scored a hat-trick, as did Jaren Marillier.
Dale College had a double-header against Cambridge High and Graeme College.
They drew 1-1 with Cambridge on Thursday before suffering a narrow 2-3 loss to Graeme in Makhanda on Friday.
Results
Dale College 1-1 Cambridge
Graeme College 3-2 Dale College
Stirling High 6-1 Hudson Park vs Stirling High
Selborne College 1-0 Queen’s College
Grey High 1-0 Grey College
