On Saturday, the second day of the Kloof High School National Football Tournament posed an even greater challenge for the participating teams, with Virginia High, Durban High School (DHS), and Northwood among the teams that qualified for the Cup quarterfinals.
Cup
Virginia High and Northwood both went two for two in Group A on Friday, leaving them to do battle for first place in the group on Saturday. After a hard-fought clash, the Free State school topped the table, thanks to a 2-0 victory over the Knights.
Despite the defeat, Northwood advanced to the knockout stage of the Cup competition, where they faced Westville Boys’ High in the last 16. The Knights recently finished third in the Mancosa KwaZulu-Natal High Schools Football Association (KZNHSFA) Coastal A-League, with Westville finishing in second place. With both sides being familiar with one another, an evenly-contested clash unfolded.
Northwood struck first, but the Griffins fought back and took a 2-1 lead into halftime. The Knights showed their mettle by striking back to force a penalty shootout, which they won 3-2 to reach the Cup quarterfinals. They’ll next face Vuyiswa Mtolo, who beat Brettonwood 2-0 in their last 16 showdown.
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Virginia High, after topping Group A, faced a determined Alexandra High in the round of 16. Virginia dominated the game but was unable to crack the Pietermaritzburg school’s defence, which led to the contest being decided from the penalty spot, with Virginia High securing a 4-3 victory to advance.
On Sunday, Virginia High faces a tough challenge from Nqabakazulu Comprehensive High School in the quarterfinals. The schools previously met in the semi-finals in 2024, with Nqabakazulu prevailing after a penalty shootout before going on to defeat HTS Louis Botha in the title game.
Nqabakazulu booked their quarterfinal spot with a tight 1-0 victory over Maritzburg College.
Birdswood made waves in the round of 16, eliminating Paul Roos Gimnasium 3-1 from the spot after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
In the quarterfinals, Birdswood will face DHS, who defeated Nilgiri 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the last 16, also following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Tuks Sport High and HTS Louis Botha are set to meet each other in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Both were impressive on Saturday.
Tuks Sport High powered to a dominant 7-0 victory over New Forest, while HTS Louis Botha rolled to a 5-0 win over The Glen High. A high-quality clash is in the offing, with the winner securing a place in the semi-finals.
Plate
After being eliminated from the Cup competition, Maritzburg College will contest the Plate. They’ll be joined in the quarterfinals by their Pietermaritzburg neighbours Alexandra High, as well as Paul Roos, Westville Boys’ High, Nilgiri, Brettonwood, New Forest, and The Glen High.
College won the Plate last year, so their goal will be to go back-to-back as the winner of the competition.
Shield
Teams that missed out on the last 16 of the Cup section, after finishing in either third or fourth place in their groups, continued their campaigns in the Shield competition.
Hillcrest High showed they intend to challenge for the section’s title by overwhelming the Invitational Team 8-0 in the quarterfinals.
On Sunday, they’ll play against Woodlands International College, which secured a 4-2 victory over Sarel Cilliers.
St Francis College downed St Nicholas Diocesan School 4-1 to earn themselves a quarterfinal match against Crawford International – La Lucia, who beat Howick High by 4-2.
Ashton International College Ballito scraped a narrow 3-2 win over Thomas More College, while Reddam House Umhlanga squeezed past Amanzimtoti (Toti) 1-0 to set up a showdown in the quarterfinals.
Bechet will face Kearsney College in the quarterfinals after both scored comfortable 4-0 victories in the last 16, with Bechet beating Durban North College (DNC) and Kearsney getting past the hosts, Kloof High.
After their relegation from the Shield competition, Toti, St Nicholas, Thomas More, Sarel Cilliers, the Invitational Team, DNC, and Kloof High will compete in the Spoon quarterfinals on Sunday.
RESULTS
Saturday, 27 June
Group A
Virginia High 2-0 Northwood
Hillcrest High 3-0 Ashton Ballito
Group B
Brettonwood 4-2 Toti
Nqabakazulu 5-0 Sarel Cilliers
Group C
Nilgiri 2-2 New Forest
St Nicholas 2-1 Durban North College
Group D
Crawford La Lucia 3-1 Kloof High
Paul Roos 2-1 The Glen High
Group E
Westville 2-1 Alexandra High
Thomas More 4-1 Invitational Team
Group F
Vuyiswa Mtolo 1-0 Maritzburg College
Reddam House 3-1 Woodlands
Group G
Tuks 1-1 DHS
Bechet 2-1 St Francis
Group H
HTS Louis Botha 1-1 Birdswood
Kearsney College 3-1 Howick High
Cup Knockout: Last 16
Virginia High (4) 0-0 (3) Alexandra High
Nqabakazulu 1-0 Maritzburg College
DHS (3) 1-1 (2) Nilgiri
Birdswood (3) 1-1 (1) Paul Roos
Northwood (3) 2-2 (2) Westville Boys’ High
Tuks 7-0 New Forest
HTS Louis Botha 5-0 The Glen High
Vuyiswa Mtolo 2-0 Brettonwood
Shield: Last 16
Hillcrest High 8-0 Invitational Team
Woodlands 4-2 Sarel Cilliers
St Francis 4-1 St Nicholas
Crawford La Lucia 4-2 Howick High
Ashton Ballito 3-2 Thomas More
Reddam House 1-0 Toti
Bechet 4-0 DNC
Kearsney College 4-0 Kloof High
FIXTURES
Sunday, 28 June
Cup Quarterfinals Fixtures
11:00
Northwood vs Vuyiswa Mtolo
HTS Louis Botha vs Tuks
12:00
Virginia High vs Nqabakazulu
DHS vs Birdswood
Plate Knockout: Quarterfinals
08:00
Alexandra High vs Maritzburg College
Nilgiri vs Paul Roos
09:00
Westville Boys’ High vs Brettonwood
New Forest vs The Glen High
Shield: Quarterfinal
11:00
Ashton Ballito vs Reddam House
Bechet vs Kearsney College
12:00
Hillcrest High vs Woodlands
St Francis vs Crawford La Lucia
Spoon Knockout: Quarterfinals
08:00
Invitational Team vs Sarel Cilliers
St Nicholas vs Howick High
10:00
Thomas More vs Toti
DNC vs Kloof High
