The final game between Bloemhof Girls’ and Paarl Gimnasium in the annual schoolgirls’ hockey challenge went the way of the Stellenbosch team.
The final match was played at the Hermanus High School astro on Saturday 5 August. The day, which saw eight schools battle it out for the champions’ title, eventually belonged to the Bloemhof Investec team. They beat Paarl Gimnasium in a nail-biting final, which went down to the wire.
After a goalless draw, a five minute golden goal still had the two teams equally poised.
You could hear a pin drop as the last player placed her ball, ready to take on the opposition goalie. Suddenly it was all over. Elated winners and dejected runners up. The day belonged to the excited “Bloemhoffers”.
Co-captain Eleonore Pretorius said that they were grateful for the win. “We worked very hard,” she said. The team’s coach, Jenny King, commented afterwards that she was thrilled with her team’s win. “Three years down the line, the Spar tournament is an excellent one to win. Schoolgirls’ hockey is going places and it’s wonderful that the schools are investing in hockey.”
The eight schools had played their way into yesterday’s final challenge of the tournament, after playing knock-out rounds against more than 40 Western Province and Boland schools earlier in the year.
Bloemhof ended top of their pool on the day, having drawn 0-0 to Rustenburg and beating Stellenberg 1-0 and Paarl Girls’ 2-0. They then won against Parel Vallei 1-0 before facing Paarl Gimnasium in the final.
Paarl Gim finished top of their pool beating Fairmont 2-0, losing to Wynberg 1-0, then beating Parel Vallei 1-0. They beat Rustenburg in an exciting penalty shoot out (5-4) after a goalless draw, before coming up against Bloemhof.
Players of the day (in order schools placed): Mieka Basson (1.Bloemhof Girls’ High), Getha Kloppers (2.Paarl Gimnasium), Rebecca Kaps (3.Parel Vallei), Rebecca Hill (Goalie) (4.Rustenburg Girls’ High), Carmen Kirstein (5.Paarl Girls’ High), Lize Steyn (6.Stellenberg), Kayla Morgan (7.Wynberg Girls’ High) and Jessica Rossouw (8.Fairmont).
