31 March 2025
Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) confirmed their status as the top dogs at the 2025 Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup with a 4-2 win over Michaelhouse on Sunday evening at the Riverside Sports Club, in Durban.
Both sides took unbeaten records at the event into the contest, but PRG, undoubtedly, was favoured after putting together a string of impressive performances that had brought them some emphatic victories.
‘House, though, had demonstrated their steel in their outings, especially in their opener against Parel Vallei, in which they ended the Somerset West school’s unbeaten start to the season, by fighting back from 1-3 down with a chukka to play to score a thrilling 4-3 win.
On Sunday evening, though, PRG had enough firepower to come away with a 4-2 victory, courtesy of goals from Logan Lackay, Jeandré van Zyl, Callum van Oodtshoorn, and Caleb Cilliers.
Despite the loss, Michaelhouse should feel encouraged by their showing against a tough field of competitors. In their second season under coach Nick Bérichon, they appear to be a far more settled and confident outfit, and that is showing in their results.
On Sunday morning, they added another win to their list of victories, edging out St Alban’s College 1-0.
Earlier in the day, PRG coach Michael Baker‘s former side, Durban High School (DHS), turned on the style to register a 3-0 win over Menlopark.
They had played in the last game on Saturday evening, a hard-fought 1-3 defeat to Paul Roos in which they had given the Stellenbosch school a stern examination. Maybe, in the afternoon, their third game in less than 24 hours caught up a little to them and they shared a 1-1 draw with Paarl Boys’ High.
That, though, is probably a little unfair on the Western Cape boys. They’re on the up, no doubt, based on their successes in pre-season festivals and their performances at the Coastal Cup. They opened the day with an impressive 4-2 victory over a more than useful Clifton College 1st XI.
Westville Boys’ High continued to show improvement and two goals from captain Seth Simpson carried them to a well-deserved 2-1 win over Pearson. Westville’s movement off the ball and their ability to exit from 16-year hits were keys to their victory.
“We had a plan, when they wanted to sit deeper, that we would be a bit more patient and slow the ball down and then use specific channels,” Westville coach Cam Mackay said.
Commenting on the victory, he reflected: “Yesterday, we were quite dominant against St Alban’s, but we had the same problem. We just can’t score goals.
“Our stats in terms of running metres, the guys are putting in a shift, so we can’t really fault them for their effort.”
His team also worked hard at the back, Mackay added: “Defensively, they’ve been good, and the effort levels have been really good. We’ve had crazy stats on our pods.”
Glenwood, too, showed that the anomaly among their results was an opening day defeat to Garsfontein. They’re much improved and scored a 2-0 win over Menlopark.
Garsfontein and Parel Vallei produced an entertaining contest, with the Capetonians edging it 4-3.
RESULTS
1st XI
Paarl Boys’ High 4-2 Clifton College
DHS 3-0 Menlopark
Michaelhouse 1-0 St Alban’s College
Westville Boys’ High 2-1 Pearson
Parel Vallei 4-3 Garsfontein
Glenwood 2-0 Menlopark
DHS 1-1 Paarl Boys’ High
Paul Roos 4-2 Michaelhouse
U16
DHS 2-0 Paarl Boys’ High
Glenwood 2-0 Menlopark
Paul Roos 2-0 Michaelhouse
Clifton 2-0 Garsfontein
Pearson 1-0 Westville
DHS 6-0 Menlopark
St Alban’s 0-0 Michaelhouse
Garsfontein 2-1 Parel Vallei
Glenwood 2-1 Paarl Boys’ High
U14
Paul Roos 6-0 DHS
St Alban’s 3-3 Michaelhouse
Clifton 1-1 Parel Vallei
Westville 3-0 Pearson
Glenwood 2-1 Menlopark
DHS 2-0 Paarl Boys’ High
Parel Vallei 2-1 Garsfontein
Paul Roos 17-0 Michaelhouse
St Alban’s 1-0 Westville
Menlopark 4-1 Pearson
Clifton 0-0 Garsfontein
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