The U16 girls’ SASHOC National Week trophy will not leave KwaZulu-Natal, regardless of who lifts the title in Hilton. That’s because the final will feature neighbours, KwaZulu-Natal Coastal A and KZN Inland A, who will battle for top honours on the Lower Astro at St Anne’s DSG on Sunday morning.
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The hosts, KZN Inland A, were the first to book a place in the final with a comfortable 5-2 win over Northern Gauteng A. Their captain, Belle Hofmeyr, led from the front with a brace of goals that bookended their scores.
She opened the scoring in the third minute, but only two minutes later, Northerns drew level through Li-May Swanepoel. In an action-packed start, Inland A restored their lead in the seventh minute when McKenzie du Bourg found the back of the net.
Zintle James and Rebecca Hellberg thrust Inland A into the pound seats, scoring two goals in the final two minutes of the first half.
Northerns pulled a goal back through Monique Gerber in the final minute of the third chukka. Coach Mark Lamprecht‘s Northerns’ side would have felt that they were still in with a chance as long as the hosts didn’t score again. Then Hofmeyr completed Inland A’s scoring in the 56th minute.
The other semi-final was far tigher, with KZN Coastal A and Eastern Province A playing to a 1-1 draw in regulation time, which sent the contest into a penalty shootout.
Jessica Savage, Charley-Rose Boyall, Kimberley Johnson, and Olivia Sivewright then converted their penalties, and their keeper, Angelita Hadden, pulled off some brilliant saves to usher KZN Coastal A into the final by a 4-2 margin in the shootout.
In the first chukka of the semi-final showdown, the teams were evenly matched, and it ended goalless. Josie van Heerden, Eastern Province A’s joint-leading scorer, broke the stalemate with a goal in the 25th minute.
Eastern Province A fans had barely finished their celebrations, however, when Boyall issued a swift response. With eight goals to her name, she is the tournament’s leading scorer and only one shy of the tally she achieved last year, which also left her as the event’s leading goal scorer.
After that, the defences clamped down and didn’t allow another goal as the contest meandered to a 1-1 draw after 60 minutes.
Coastal A’s four penalty takers, Savage, Boyall, Johnson, and Sivewright, were on target, while Northerns scored two goals and had two misses. Emma Potgieter and Sophia Jansen netted, while Gabriella de Jonker and Josie van Heerden failed to get past Angelita Hadden.
Sunday morning’s final starts at 10:05.
Results
Western Province A 2-0 Boland A
Boland B 2-1 KZN Inland B
KZN Inland A 5-2 Northern Gauteng A
KZN Coastal B (3) 0-0 (1) Eastern Gauteng
KZN Coastal A (5) 1-1 (2) Eastern Province A
Southern Gauteng A 2-1 Southern Free State A
