For the second year running, the final of the boys’ Elite section of the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament will be contested by teams from the Western Cape. On Friday, Parel Vallei High (PV) and Paarl Gimnasium booked their places in the title-deciding match.
Last year’s final was between SACS, who didn’t return for this year’s event, and Reddam House Constantia, with SACS winning 4-2.
This year, the final brings together PV and Paarl Gim. Both were in Pool B, where they finished joint-first with 13 points after four wins and a goalless draw when they met.
In the semifinals, PV faced Somerset College, second in Pool A, while Paarl Gim took on York High after they topped the pool.
PV was made to work hard for their 3-0 win after a slow start to the match.
Benjamin Traut opened the scoring for the Michael van Rensburg-coached side, and Luca Jordaan made it 2-0 in the second quarter. A field goal from Nicholas Havinga in the third quarter put the final nail in the coffin.
Paarl Gim, meanwhile, survived a strong fightback from York High to claim a place in the final.
Coach Jacques Grobler‘s side has been impressive all week long and started the semifinal like a house on fire, charging into an early 3-0 lead through goals from Dian Vorster, JJ Geldenhuys, and Rikus de Kock.
York refused to go down without a fight, though, and Joshua Dominic scored two goals in quick succession to make it 3-2.
Paarl Gim, however, extended their lead to two goals when Geldenhuys again found the back of the net to help his side to a 4-2 victory.
Sunday’s final will be the third meeting between PV and Paarl Gim this year. Their previous two matches ended in draws.
In the Evolve section, Bridge House will face Charlie Hofmeyr in the final.
Bridge House finished the group stage unbeaten and edged out Swartland 3-2 in the last four.
Meanwhile, Charlie Hofmeyr had to get past Upington in the last eight before beating Hoërskool Punt 3-1 in the semifinals.
Their final takes place at 13:30 at the Hartleyvale A Astroturf.
Results
Elite Boys
Paarl Boys’ High 4-2 HTS Drostdy
York 4-0 Parel Vallei Invitational
Somerset College 5-1 Reddam House Constantia
Parel Vallei 5-1 Merchant Taylors
Paarl Gimnasium 5-1 Curro Durbanville
St Paul’s College 4-3 Worcester Gimnasium
Semifinals
Parel Vallei 3-0 Somerset College
Paarl Gimnasium 4-2 York High
Fixtures
Elite Boys
08:30 – HTS Drostdy vs Merchants Taylor (7th/8th playoff)
09:30 – St Paul’s College vs Paarl Boys’ High (5th/6th playoff)
09:30 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Curro Durbanville (11th/12th playoff)
11:30 – York High vs Somerset College (3rd/4th playoff)
12:30 – Parel Vallei Invitational vs Reddam House Constantia (9th/10th playoff)
15:30 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Parel Vallei (Final)
