As the dust settled on the KC March AstroTurf in Gelvandale, Gauteng sides shared the U21 interprovincial tournament spoils after their men’s and women’s sides claimed gold in Gqeberha at the weekend.
The women from Northern Gauteng Blues took gold with a thrilling 3-0 penalty shootout victory after the score was tied at 1-1 after normal time against neighbours Southern Gauteng.
The Northerns men could not back up their female counterparts as they stumbled to a 3-1 defeat in a more straightforward affair against Southerns.
Omari Pienaar Geyer, head coach of the Sky Blues, said she always felt that if her team was able to reach the final, they had a good chance of taking the crown.
“It’s pretty special to take this win, especially after the close semifinal we had.
“We always wanted to play in the final and said that if we were to make the final, we would win it.
“Kudos to Southerns, who made it really difficult for us, but the girls stuck to our plan very well and we were fortunate enough to take it in the end,” Pienaar Geyer said.
“We were not at our best in the semi, so that made me feel a bit better coming in today.
“The girls stuck to what we were trying to do. I think we left a few goals out there, which made things difficult.
“Southerns used their one opportunity, so we made it a bit hard for ourselves and were fortunate to come out on the winning side.”
Meanwhile, Owen Mvimbi, in his first season as Southerns men’s U21 head coach, was proud of how his players grew across the five days of tournament action.
“We gained a lot of confidence and momentum from our first few games, despite the loss to a strong, well-coached EP side and then drawing against WP.
“We played a great match against WP in the semi, which we said would be the final, so that set us up quite nicely.
“Credit to Northerns, they are a well-coached team and probably one of the fittest in the tournament, having been together for many years, so it was pretty tough,” Mvimbi said.
“The players really understood what they needed to do, so I was super proud of them because they were under pressure, [playing] big knockout games against good teams who have beaten us in the past.”
Mvimbi also mentioned the amazing support of Gqeberha’s hockey-loving fans.
“I have played tournaments here myself, so I know how much the fans love hockey down here, so when you visit, you want to give the people what they want, really entertain the crowds and fortunately I have a few entertainers in my team.
“I am Xhosa as well, so I have family in the EC, so all these little things make it so much more special for me and this young team to have achieved this and I am super excited about the future,” he said.
Results
Men, final: Northern Gauteng 1-3 Southern Gauteng; 3rd/4th playoff: Eastern Province 0 Western Province 2; 5th/6th playoff: Free State 1 KZN Coastals 5; 7th/8th playoff: SG Witsies 2 North West 6.
Women, final: Southern Gauteng 1 Northern Gauteng 1. Northerns won 3-0 by penalty shootout; 3rd/4th playoff: KZN Coastals 2 Western Province 3; 5th/6th playoff: Eastern Province 1 Free State 3; 7th/8th playoff: Western Province Peninsula 2 North West 1.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.