The fourth Kearsney Soccer Tournament at Kearsney College kicked off on Thursday, with 36 teams in action – 16 in the boys’ high school category, 12 in the boys’ primary category, and six in the girls’ high school category.
The event runs through to Saturday, when the champions will be crowned.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
In Group A, Khabazela High stunned Durban High School (DHS), regarded as a potential title contender, winning a high-scoring clash 5-2.
Underlining the unpredictability of the event, Khabazela fell to Queensburgh High, losing 0-2.
In their second outing, DHS played to a goalless draw against Siyajabula High. The Horseflies finally made a tick in the win column, getting by Queensburgh High 2-1 in their final game on Thursday.
In the remaining Group A match, Siyajabula scored a convincing 4-1 victory over Queensburgh High.
In Group B, one of the tournament favourites, Urban Academy, the 2025 runner-up, began their challenge with an impressive 4-0 win over Westville Boys’ High. In their subsequent match, Urban Academy secured a hard-fought and narrow 1-0 victory over Glenwood High.
After their defeat to Urban Academy, Westville rebounded with a 2-0 win over Ashton International College Ballito, who also suffered a 0-4 loss to Glenwood.
In Group C, KwaDinabakubo scored a 2-1 victory over Maritzburg College, which set the table for an excellent day for KwaDinabakubo. They followed up with a 5-2 win over Sutherland High and a 6-1 victory over Northwood.
In another high-scoring encounter, Northwood played to a 3-3 draw against Sutherland before being hammered 5-1 by Maritzburg College.
Maqhutshana and Clifton College kicked off the Group D fixtures with a 3-3 stalemate in which Maqhutshana fought back from a 0-3 deficit.
The tournament hosts, Kearsney College, scored a slim 2-1 victory over Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge.
Maqhutshana then claimed a 2-0 victory over Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge, while Clifton College defeated the hosts 1-0.
In the girls’ high school competition, the reigning champion, St Mary’s DSG, was given a rude welcome by Danville Park Girls’ High, who scored a comfortable 4-1 win.
St Mary’s bounced back with an entertaining 5-3 victory over Durban Girls’ High, the team they beat in last year’s final.
Durban Girls’ High also experienced a 1-2 setback against Ashton Ballito, but they got themselves on track with a 4-2 win over St Henry’s Marist College.
In other matches, Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge downed St Henry’s 4-1, and Danville Park beat St Henry’s 3-1.
Ashton Ballito and Trinityhouse played to a 1-1 draw, while Trinityhouse also secured a narrow 3-2 win over Danville Park.
RESULTS
Day One: Thursday, 16 July
Boys’ High School Competition
Group A
Khabazela High 5-2 Durban High
Siyajabula 4-1 Queensburgh High
Durban High 0-0 Siyajabula
Queensburgh High 2-0 Khabazela
Durban High 2-1 Queensburgh High
Group B
Glenwood 4-1 Ashton Ballito
Urban Academy 4-0 Westville Boys’ High
Westville Boys’ High 2-0 Ashton Ballito
Urban Academy 1-0 Glenwood
Group C
KwaDinabakubo 2-1 Maritzburg College
Northwood 3-3 Sutherland
KwaDinabakubo 5-2 Sutherland
Maritzburg College 5-1 Northwood
KwaDinabakub0 6-1 Northwood
Group D
Maqhutshana 3-3 Clifton College
Kearsney College 2-1 Trinityhouse
Maqhutshana 2-0 Trinityhouse
Clifton College 1-0 Kearsney College
Girls’ High School Competition
Ashton Ballito 2-1 Durban Girls
Danville Park 4-1 St Mary’s DSG
Trinityhouse 4-1 St Henry’s Marist
St Mary’s DSG 5-3 Durban Girls
Danville Park 3-1 St Henry’s Marist
Ashton Ballito 1-1 Trinityhouse
Durban Girls 4-2 St Henry’s Marist
Trinityhouse 3-2 Danville Park
