Reddam House Constantia and St Paul’s College didn’t break stride on their way to conquering their groups at the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament (CTIHT) on Thursday.
They both finished at the top of their pools and appear set for a showdown later in the showpiece.
Jessica Bester helped Reddam House put an exclamation mark on their Pool B campaign by scoring a brace in their 4-0 win over Bellville High in their final group match.
Bester’s first goal came in the third minute, and before Bellville could reorganise their defence, Sally Gitlin doubled Reddam House’s lead four minutes later.
Bester completed her brace in the second chukka, and by then, Reddam House was on course for a comfortable win. Emma Hibbert delivered the final blow with a goal in the 41st minute.
Earlier in the day, Tammah Luck showed great skill in the circle, scoring four goals to catapult Reddam House to a convincing 6-1 win over HTS Drostdy. Within the first 19 minutes of the game, she had a hat-trick. Courtney Thomas and Bester added two more goals before Luck finished things off with a 44th-minute strike. Anke Britz scored Bellville’s solitary goal.
With those two wins, Reddam House completed their group assignment with the maximum possible 12 points from four games. Rhenish Girls Invitational finished second in Pool B with three wins and a tight 1-0 loss to Reddam on Wednesday.
York High finished third, Bellville fourth, and Drostdy, who were winless in their Pool B campaign, finished fifth.
Pool A
St Paul’s College overcame Charlie Hofmeyr and La Rochelle on Thursday to complete a four-match unbeaten run in Pool A and bagged a full haul of 12 points from their four games.
The Namibian side began the day with a comfortable 4-0 win over Charlie Hofmeyr in the morning. Their second outing proved to be more challenging. Facing an inspired La Rochelle team, they fell behind in the 15th minute.
The ladies from Paarl must have sensed victory when they went through the second and most of the third chukka with their lead intact. However, St Paul’s equalised a minute before the end of the quarter and then shattered La Rochelle’s hopes for at least a share of the spoils with a 47th-minute goal.
Somerset College finished in second place in Pool A with six points after two wins in their four games. Paarl Girls’ High placed third, with five points from a win, two draws, and a loss. Charlie Hofmeyr and La Rochelle placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Results
Elite Girls
Pool A
St Paul’s College 4-0 Charlie Hofmeyr
Paarl Girls’ High 0-0 La Rochelle
Somerset College 2-0 Charlie Hofmeyr
St Paul’s College 2-1 La Rochelle
Paarl Girls’ High 1-0 Somerset College
Pool B
Rhenish Girls Invitational 1-0 York High
Reddam House 6-1 HST Drostdy
Rhenish Girls Invitational 4-0 Bellville
York High 3-0 HTS Drostdy
Reddam House 4-0 Bellville
Evolve Girls
Pool A
Hoërskool Punt 2-2 Curro Durbanville
Hoërskool Strand 3-1 The Settlers
Pool B
Bridge House 1-0 Western Province Invitational
Uppington 1-1 Worcester Gimnasium
Pool C
Hugenote 3-0 Curro Hermanus
Union High 4-0 Edgemead
Pool D
Pinelands 4-0 Jan van Riebeeck
HS Stellenbosch 3-1 Swartland
Cross-pool
Hoërskool Punt 3-0 Western Province Invitational
Curro Durbanville 1-0 Upington
HS Stellenbosch 4-0 Edgemead
Worcester (3) 0-0 (2) Hoërskool Strand
Bridge House 1-0 The Settlers
Hugenote 2-0 Jan van Riebeeck
Pinelands 5-0 Curro Hermanus
