KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A and KwaZulu-Natal Inland A made strong starts to the SASHOC u16 National Week (IPT) on Tuesday.
The event, which takes place at Hilton College and St Anne’s DSG, runs from 7 to 12 July.
Charley-Rose Boyall gave KZN Coastal A a confident start to their title defence with a hat-trick in their 5-0 win over KZN Inland B.
Boyall, the tournament’s top goal scorer in 2025, scored her goals in the space of just two minutes, striking in the 33rd, 34th, and 35th minutes.
Mikaela Russel scored the fourth for KZN Coastal, and Jessica Savage completed the scoring in the final minute of play.
Coastal A rounded off an impressive day by defeating Southern Free State A in their second outing. Both goals came from Saranya Govender, who netted in the 13th and 45th minutes.
Those victories catapulted KZN Coastal A into pole position in Pool A with the maximum six points from their two outings.
Western Province A, who registered a 2-0 win over KZN Inland B, behind goals for Zoe-Jane Cole and Helena Schoeman, is in second place with three points.
Northern Gauteng A and Southern Free State A each picked up a single win and are in third and fourth place, respectively. KZN Coastal B and KZN Inland B follow in fifth and sixth places.
Pool B
In one of the opening day’s key games, KZN Inland A struck twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a 4-2 win over Southern Gauteng A. The victory propelled them to the summit in Pool B.
After finishing sixth last year, Inland A will aim to capitalise on their strong start and produce a better campaign this time around.
They were on the board in only the fifth minute of the contest, with Kate Holding finding the back of the net. Southerns levelled through Gugu Moyo in the 21st minute, but the hosts pulled ahead once again in the 33rd minute when McKenzie du Bourg beat goalkeeper Bonolo Madalane.
Southerns fought their way back and restored parity with a Lucy Wells strike in the final moments of the third chukka. Inland A secured maximum points, though, with further goals from Rebecca Hellberg and Zingce Mkhondweni in the 53rd and 57th minutes.
Eastern Province A also opened their challenge with a win, edging out Eastern Gauteng 1-0. They trail the group leaders, KZN Inland A, on goal difference.
The two Boland sides, Boland A and Boland B, played to a 1-1 draw and are joint-third on the log. Eastern Gauteng and Southern Gauteng A have not yet picked up a point, and they lie in fifth and sixth places, respectively.
Results
Pool A
Western Province A 2-0 KZN Coastal B
Southern Free State A 2-1 Northern Gauteng A
KZN Coastal A 5-0 KZN Inland B
Northern Gauteng A 1-0 KZN Coastal B
KZN Coastal A 2-0 Southern Free State A
Pool B
KZN Inland A 4-2 Southern Gauteng A
Eastern Province A 1-0 Eastern Gauteng
Boland A 1-1 Boland B
