6 July 2026
In an astonishing and (if you were a KZN Coastal supporter) an utterly sublime finish, the KZN Coastal u18 boys‘ team overcame a 1-4 deficit with three minutes to play, levelling at 4-4 to force the SASHOC National Week final into a penalty shootout in which they ended Western Province A‘s string of five successive titles on Saturday at St Anne’s in Hilton.
Such a script would have been rejected if it were a screenplay, but, as the saying goes, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. KZN Coastal proved that, with a massive dose of never-say-die grit and belief thrown in, as they pulled off a seemingly impossible comeback.
Going back to earlier in the competition, Coastal appeared to have suffered a potentially fatal blow to their title aspirations on the second day of action. They opened their campaign with a 4-1 win over Boland B and then shared a goalless draw with KZN Inland A. Then, they were shocked by Western Province B – ironically, given their opponent in the final – losing 1-2.
That meant they needed to win out from that point on, and that is exactly what coach Harold Siyaya‘s boys did.
The following day, they cruised to a 5-1 win over Mpumalanga. Still, they needed to beat Western Province A in their last pool game to reach the semi-finals. They did, handing Province their first IPT loss since 2018 with a 2-1 win that was highlighted by an extraordinary winning goal from their inspirational captain, Ryde Brisset.
The Clifton College captain was one of five captains in the side, with Luc Boyall leading Northwood, Keegan de Jager skippering Kearsney, Chris Abrahams in charge at Durban High School (DHS), and Tyhill Naidoo captaining Westville Boys’ High. Their leadership and the way their teammates took on responsibility were vital components in their title-winning run.
Having dealt with Western Province, there was no let-up for the Coastal boys. Their reward for a second-place finish in their pool, behind Province on goal difference, was a meeting with Boland A, who had dominated Pool B, winning four, drawing one, and finishing with a positive goal difference of 19, comfortably the best in the group stage of the competition.
In their three matches preceding their final four clash with Coastal A, they had thumped KZN Coastal B 8-0, beaten Southern Gauteng A 4-1, and outplayed Southern Free State A 7-1.
The Bolanders were not surprised to find a different animal in Coastal A. They took the lead, though, through Luca Jordaan. Coastal A struck back after 30 minutes through Brisset, then Jessie van Wyk put the home province’s hopefuls ahead. Five minutes later, Luka Meets, the Forward of the Tournament, levelled matters.
Tye Milne, who came on strongly in the latter stages of the tournament when the chips were down, won it for KZN Coastal with only two minutes left.
In the other semi-final, Western Province A was pushed to the brink by Eastern Province A. A 59th-minute goal from Callum Anderson pulled Province level a minute from the final whistle, making it 2-2, and captain Mohloli Maseko and his team then booked their place in the final, winning the shootout 5-4.
A fantastic crowd surrounded the St Anne’s Lower Astro on Saturday morning, with many of them hoping for a KZN Coastal victory. They were given a first-minute jolt of adrenaline when Dan Holliday beat Western Province goalkeeper Arin Spiller for the opener.
Province battled their way into the contest and eventually manufactured a goal, well finished by Luc Dicey in the 24th minute after he picked up a rebound following a good stop from goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter.
The Western Province skipper, Maseko, was a constant threat in the midfield, getting through a mountain of work and impressing with his creativity. He showed why he deserved to win the Midfielder of the Tournament and struck twice, in the 32nd and 44th minutes, to give his side a 3-1 lead after three chukkas.
It looked to be all over bar the shouting when Jacques van Dyk fired in a fantastic drag flick with 13 minutes remaining. Coastal’s fight didn’t cease, though. In the 56th minute, Jessie van Wyk was presented with one of the easiest finishes he’ll ever have after excellent work by Dan Holliday and Chris Abrahams.
Two minutes later, Tyhill Naidoo started and finished a goal-scoring move, beginning with him intercepting a pass. That led to a penalty corner. Keegan de Jager’s shot was stopped, but when the ball was played back towards goal, Naidoo expertly deflected it into the back of the Province net.
The Coastal team sprinted back to their side of the field to get the game going again. Soon, they were on the attack again, and Luc Boyall won the boys in black and white another short corner with some sharp stick work.
This time, Keegan de Jager beat Arin Spiller, the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, but his shot was stopped by one of Daniel Rightford‘s feet, and the umpire pointed to the penalty spot. Tye Milne stepped up to take the crucial flick. With ice in his veins, he beat the ‘keeper, low and to his right.
Only 30 seconds remained, but Western Province was not done and forced a PC of their own. After a complex variation, they forced another one. When KZN Coastal lost their skipper from the PC defence for an early break, the tension ratcheted up another level. Maseko tried to beat goalkeeper Wolhuter to his right, but was unsuccessful.
And so, on to a penalty shootout.
Elchaan Lubbe was the first man up for Coastal, but his effort was centimetres wide of the right post.
Jacques van Dyk fired off a vicious reverse stick shot with Province’s first attempt, but Wolhuter stood tall to deny him. Once the eight seconds were up, after Van Dyk tried to get a second shot away, the Clifton College goalkeeper fell to the ground, having taken some damage when he bravely saved the first shot.
Next, his Clifton team-mate, Tye Milne, was Mr BMT again, expertly manipulating Spiller off balance before slotting to make it 1-0 to KZN Coastal.
The very skilful and tricky Mohloli Maseko was the next man up for Province, but Wolhuter executed a perfect tackle to shut down the danger almost immediately.
Up stepped his counterpart, Ryde Brisset. He got the better of Spiller, but his shot hit the post. Not panicking, the KZN Coastal captain, who was named the Player of the Tournament, tapped the rebound home to 2-0.
Daniel de Wet pulled one back for Province, neatly sending Wolhuter onto his left foot before beating him to his right.
That gave Chris Abrahams the opportunity to win it for KZN Coastal. It appeared that he was about to run out of time as he spun and drove to his right, but goalkeeper Spiller slammed his stick down on the DHS man’s stick in a desperate attempt to prevent a shot. The umpire pointed to the penalty spot.
Coastal turned to Tye Milne again. He pulled off the same routine he had to even the scores at 4-4 earlier in the contest. Then, he turned and walked away a few steps before falling to his knees. Goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter was the first man to him, diving on top of his teammate, followed by a wave of black and white as the rest of the team raced from the halfway line to celebrate an unforgettable victory by jumping onto the pile.
Magic!
It was a tougher tournament for KZN Inland A, who never quite hit their straps and were, unfortunately, the draw specialists.
They drew their first three matches – 2-2 against Western Province B, 0-0 against KZN Coastal A, and 0-0 against Western Province – which hinted at their potential. In their fourth match, though, they suffered an unexpected 0-1 loss to Boland B, who, credit to them, produced a tactically astute performance.
In their last pool outing, KZN Inland A finally tasted victory, edging out Mpumalanga 2-1.
With one win under their belt, the Inland boys added two more to finish the tournament in ninth place. In a cross-pool playoff, they beat Southern Free State 3-2 and then beat Mpumalanga 2-1 again.
Eastern Province A finished third, beating Boland A 3-2 in a penalty shootout after their clash finished 1-1. Fifth went to Western Province B, who beat Northern Gauteng A 1-0.
Southern Gauteng A placed seventh after a 2-0 victory against Boland B.
KZN Coastal B, meanwhile, ensured they play in the A Section in 2027 with a 3-2 win over Southern Free State A.
Final Standings
KZN Coastal A
Western Province A
Eastern Province A
Boland A
Western Province B
Northern Gauteng A
Southern Gauteng A
Boland B
KZN Inland A
Mpumalanga
KZN Coastal B
Southern Free State A