After a relatively slow start to the season, Paarl Gimnasium has started to gain some momentum, and they added a tick to the win column on Friday night in Cape Town.
Facing Wynberg Boys’ High‘s on the Astro of Dreams, Gim got back to winning ways, scoring a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
Last week, Gimmies played out a 1-1 draw with Parel Vallei before going down 1-2 against Bishops on home turf.
Wynberg, meanwhile, defeated Grey High 1-0, and the southern suburbs’ outfit was keen to follow up that major scalp with a win over another top team.
From the first chukka, it was a tightly contested affair. In the end, though, one goal, scored by Ebert Sabbagha, was enough to decide the contest.
Wynberg pushed hard for an equaliser late on, but it was Paarl Gim’s night.
“What worked really well for us was our short passing, and we won several one-versus-one battles across the field, which created an overload,” Jacques Grobler, the Paarl Gim coach, said after the game.
“We also played with composure and, when we lost the ball, the urgency to win it back and get a defensive shape was exactly what we wanted to see from our team.
“The boys have played very good hockey the last two weeks without getting the outcomes. It was encouraging to see it all come together on Friday night.”
Paarl Gim will shift its attention to Somerset College next week, while Wynberg prepares to face Parel Vallei.
Speaking of Parel Vallei, they made the trip to Newlands to face South African College High School (SACS) on Friday night.
The meeting was a repeat of the Hibbert Shield final, which SACS won 5-2 in Gqeberha at the end of April.
The hosts headed into the clash off the back of a pulsating 3-3 draw with Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) in midweek and were eager to get back to winning ways.
They did exactly that, playing some entertaining hockey on their way to a 4-0 win, thanks to goals by Jan Dijkstra, Litha Kraai, Josh Azevedo van Dyk, and Daniel de Wet.
In Stellenbosch, Paul Roos squandered an opportunity to beat Paarl Boys’ High.
Coach Michael Baker‘s side led 3-2 with seconds remaining, but Boishaai scored against the run of play to make it 3-3 at full-time.
Luc Botha, Logan Lackay, and Seth Paterson netted for PRG while Mijan Herholdt‘s hat-trick secured a share of the spoils for Boishaai.
Rondebosch Boys’ High won 3-1 against Stellenberg, courtesy of goals from Jason Warneke, Joe Beggs, and Martin Barnard.
Joining them in the winners’ circle was Somerset College, who showed fight to thump Curro Durbanville 6-3. Tongai Mlingo fired in a hat-trick for the winners, while Carl Schaefer netted a brace, and Giovanni Goncalves also scored.
Worcester Gimnasium continued its impressive run with a 4-1 win over Hugenote, while a spirited second-half display secured a 3-2 victory for Bishops against Durbanville.
RESULTS
SACS 4-0 Parel Vallei
Paarl Gimnasium 1-0 Wynberg Boys’ High
Somerset College 6-3 Curro Durbanville
Paul Roos 3-3 Paarl Boys’ High
Rondebosch 3-1 Stellenberg
Worcester Gimnasium 4-1 Hugenote
Bishops 3-2 Durbanville
