Zebras give it stick, win final over Disas

A WEEK of entertaining provincial hockey action came to an exciting conclusion at Bunkers Hill Astro over the weekend as the U16 Boys South Regional Hockey Tournament ended on Saturday morning.

The Western Province Zebras emerged victorious in the end, beating out their compatriots WP Disas in the final 3-0 to take the overall honours in the week with some cracking action keeping spectators on the edge of their seats.

“I was happy with how everything ran and am glad hockey was the winner at the end of the day,” said tournament organiser Robert Green.

“In my opinion, all teams enjoyed their time on and off the field.”

Eight teams took part in the week, including hosts Amathole, SouthWestern Districts, Boland, Southern Free State and four Western Province teams in the Zebras, Disas, Proteas and Quaggas.

The final between the two WP teams was hotly contested with the first five minutes seeing both sides not wanting to put too many players forward. Both sides held onto possession well but it was the Zebras who managed to force their way through the Disas’ defence to open the scoring after eight minutes.

Disas came back strongly after going behind but were unable to get themselves level as Zebras goalkeeper David Myburg, who finished as goal keeper of the tournament, made a slew of impressive saves to keep his team ahead.

A short corner with two minutes left in the half, saw the Zebras convert to take a comfortable 2-0 lead into the half-time break, which they managed to extend to 3-0 early in the second half after coming out all guns blazing, with them then holding onto the lead until the final whistle.

“I would say the teams in the final were the top two over the week and the final could have gone either way,” claimed Green.

Hosts Amathole unfortunately finished last out of the eight teams after they fell away after a good start to the tournament.

Having started off with a 2-1 win over Southern Free State and two draws – 0-0 with the Proteas and 2-2 with the Quaggas – Amathole finished second in their group.

Heading into the quarterfinals, they then lost 2-1 against SWD to slip into the fifth to eighth play-off section, with them then losing 3-1 to the Proteas and then drawing with the Quaggas 1-1 in their final match, only to lose the shoot-out 3-2 to finish at the bottom.

“I think the Amathole side is a tale of what could have been. They certainly didn’t perform at their best, but also didn’t deserve to place last,” admitted Green.

“The coach and manager did well with the boys and one or two results just didn’t go their way, but that’s sport.”

In the end, it was a successful week of competitive hockey action enjoyed by all.

“The local organising committee made sure everything was in place so I could ensure the tournament ran smoothly and efficiently,” according to Green.