The Clifton Water Polo Tournament entered its playoff phase on Saturday in Durban, and with that came some stunning results as the stakes increased.
When the last whistle was blown in the evening, the defending champions, Hilton College, had booked a place in Sunday’s final against Kearsney College.
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Hilton looked like a veteran outfit as they handled their semifinal against Affies with composure and aplomb, cruising to a 13-6 victory.
Affies may have shot their bolt in the quarterfinals, where they stunned SACS, who had won Pool D, finishing ahead of Hilton College. It may have finished 8-7, but SACS closed only late in the game after being forced to come from behind.
Hilton, meanwhile, took down the Pool C winners, St John’s College, getting their noses in front early and keeping just ahead of a furious finish from the Johannesburg powerhouse to advance to the semifinals after an 8-7 win in a repeat of last year’s final.
Clifton College started the day with a superb showing, blanking Paul Roos Gimnasium 14-0, while Kearsney withstood Reddam House Constantia‘s best shots to triumph 19-14.
That set up the match of the tournament thus far, with Kearsney tackling Clifton in the first of the semi-finals. It was a contest that produced wild swings of momentum.
Clifton started well, racing into a 3-1 lead, but early in the second chukka Kearsney levelled at 4-4. Almost immediately, Clifton struck back through Daniel Nothard. It was the start of a run of four goals without reply before the halftime break, and early in the second half, Clifton went 9-4 clear when Jake Frederic slotted.
With Tom Aylward firing in three key goals, Kearsney came roaring back, astonishingly scoring six times without reply to go 10-9 up.
A Jamie Nicolau howitzer brought the sides level again, but Max Mills put Kearsney 11-10 up with a minute to play. Incredibly, with only one second left on the clock, Nathan Burger struck back for Clifton to send the contest into a penalty shootout.
The home side enjoyed the early advantage when Izah Roux stopped Max Mills. It was, however, all square again when Kearsney goalkeeper Rourke Stacey denied Jake Frederic, leaving the teams level at 3-3.
Then Aylward, with ice in his veins, netted once more for Kearsney. When Stacey stopped Mitchell Mun-Gavin on the next shot, the Botha’s Hill boys had squeezed into the title game, 4-3 from the spot.
Hilton’s 13-6 win over Affies was a damp squib in comparison, but make no mistake, it was a controlled and impressive showing from coach Paul Martin‘s crew, who never allowed Affies into the contest, scoring early to go ahead, thanks to a smothering high press.
The Pretoria school improved its goal-scoring output in the fourth chukka, but by then victory was out of reach.
Bradley van Loggerenberg, a standout performer for Hilton throughout the event, once again delivered, but Hilton impressed as a unit that executed its game plan well under pressure.
The action on Sunday begins at 07:00, with Michaelhouse aiming to avenge a loss to Clifton 2 on Friday, which kept them out of the semifinals.
Paul Roos, thumped by Clifton on Saturday morning, rebounded to edge out Reddam House Constantia in a penalty shootout, which put them into the final day’s 5th/6th playoff against St John’s College.
The Johannesburg side beat SACS 8-6, relegating the Capetonians to the 7th/8th playoff against Reddam.
RESULTS
Quarterfinals
Clifton 14-0 Paul Roos
Kearsney 19-14 Reddam House Constantia
Hilton College 8-7 SACS
Affies 8-7 SACS
Playoffs
Michaelhouse 8-5 Durban High School
Clifton 2 6-5 Selborne College
Westville 10-8 Northwood
KES 20-11 Maritzburg College
Paul Roos 9-8 Reddam House Constantia
St John’s 8-6 SACS
Semifinals
Kearsney 15-14 Clifton
Hilton 13-6 Affies
Sunday Fixtures
07:00 – Clifton 2 vs Michaelhouse
07:50 – Westville vs KES
08:40 – DHS vs Selborne
09:30 – Northwood vs Maritzburg College
10:20 – 9th/10th playoff
11:10 – 11th/12th playoff
12:00 – 13th/14th playoff
12:50 – 15th/16th playoff
13:40 – Paul Roos vs St John’s 5th/6th
14:30 – Reddam vs SACS 7th/8th
15:20 – Clifton vs Affies 3rd/4th
16:10 – Kearsney vs Hilton 1st/2nd
