18 March 2025
A visit to Botha’s Hill for the clash of the Kearsney College and Clifton College 1st hockey teams on Saturday was rewarded with an exciting and fascinating duel.
Competition on the Mason Astro was tight. Kearsney scored in the last second of the 2nd XI match to steal a 1-1 draw, while Clifton scored in the last second of the 1st XI game to snatch a 2-2 draw.
These are two interesting teams. Clifton is a more experienced unit, and they needed to lean on their experience to claw their way back from a 0-2 deficit. Kearsney is relatively inexperienced, but they moved the ball well and played a composed game. It took the visitors a while before they managed to start denting the hosts’ defences.
It surely helped Kearsney that Director of Hockey, Keegan Pearce, who took charge of the 1st XI this year, was very familiar with the Clifton players as he previously held the same positions at the Durban school until the end of 2023. Still, it’s all very well to have knowledge of the opposition, but the players need to execute the game plan to counter them.
Clifton is an intriguing side. They’re well coached by Calvin Price and they’re a team that has a bit of flair about them. It is a pity that SA u17 star Ryde Brissett is out for the season because of a shoulder injury, but credit to him, he’s been at every match helping the side in any capacity he can.
After a tight opening chukka in cool, slightly misty conditions, with occasional light rain, Kearsney broke the deadlock in the second chukka with a superbly executed penalty corner.
Keegan de Jager, from wide on the left, fired a rocket across Clifton’s impressive SA u16 goalkeeper Georg Wolhuter into the far corner to give his side the lead. A couple of minutes later and Kearsney was two goals to the good after they caught out Clifton with a swift counterattack, which Josh Snyman finished.
Clifton’s response was excellent. They hit back two minutes later through one of their key players, Jason Adams, with the vice-captain charging into the circle and finishing calmly to pull his side back into the contest.
In the second half, Clifton kept pressing, but Kearsney’s defence was composed, and they stood firm. Towards the end, though, Clifton began to make further incisions into the home side’s defensive setup.
They came within centimetres of an equaliser with three minutes to play when captain Zach Williamson‘s dive for a tap-in was milliseconds too late.
Then, with about 20 seconds to go, Clifton won a penalty corner and one last chance to rescue a draw. During the penalty corner, the final hooter sounded, but Luke Carolan slammed the ball against the backboard a second later.
Only once the ball had exited the circle would the match have been over, so the umpires, after conferring, awarded the goal and the game ended 2-2.
“Both of the second goals were from guys who came off the bench. How lekker is that?” asked Kearsney coach Keegan Pearce afterwards.
He said he was pleased with his team’s ball movement, which was the best it had been after warm-up outings against DHS and Glenwood. He also felt his side was at its best on the counterattack.
Commenting on his team’s solid defence, Pearce said: “We were zonal [marking] for the whole game, and they changed from a back-four into a back-five shape quite often, so we had to manage our depths. If you get too sucked into the ball, and they get behind us, then it is easy to catch us unaware.
“We were good at keeping our angles right, which is probably why we kept them out of the game for so long.”
While his team didn’t win and they had to come from behind, Clifton’s coach Calvin Price appreciated his side’s fighting spirit. “Kearsney was good,” he said. “I don’t think we hit our full stride today, but we showed incredible character to make it 2-2.”
Price felt his players were impatient in the first half, trying to go too long, too directly, too soon, but once they deciphered how Kearsney was playing, they were able to exert more control over the contest.
“Last week, we were really good [in a 2-1 win over Westville]. I thought we were clinical. This time, we weren’t as clinical in the final third. There were too many pop passes and missed traps. We didn’t have the outcomes that we want to get.”
He also mentioned a penalty corner from which Clifton scored…except the ball hadn’t been stopped outside the circle before it was struck. That was an example of the clinical play that Price felt was missing.
Still, the Clifton 1st XI is a good watch. Their experience, composure, and confidence results in an attractive style of play that is pleasing on the eye and effective on the field.
RESULTS
1st: Kearsney 2-2 Clifton
2nd: Kearsney 1-1 Clifton
3rd: Kearsney 3-0 Clifton
16A: Kearsney 1-3 Clifton
16B: Kearsney 5-0 Clifton
14A: Kearsney 3-2 Clifton
14B: Kearsney 5-0 Clifton
RUGBY
Kearsney College’s 1st XV enjoyed a convincing victory in their opening game of the season, running in seven tries in a 50-0 win over Clifton College on Stott Field on Saturday.
Clifton pressured the home side in the early going, but the One-Stripe‘s defensive lines held. Then, vice-captain Doan Nel got Kearsney onto the board in the seventh minute.
They struck again in the 14th minute and doubled the score to 14-0 after Bukho Hlwatika, the co-vice-captain with Nel, countered off a Clifton clearance and put Nhlanhla Ndlovu into space to score.
Kearsney, next, turned to their lineout to set up a rolling maul, which brought them a try in the 23rd minute. Just before the break, the hosts ran the length of the field off a missed penalty kick from Clifton to take a 24-0 lead into halftime.
The home team quickly added to their tally early in the second half. Oliver Ludwig set up Hlwatika for a try with a sharp break, and Ludwig was again involved, stealing a Clifton throw-in, to create a chance for Lwandle Mkize to cross for five points.
Solid play between the backs and forwards sent Mkize over for a second try. Then Kearsney turned back to the driving maul to bag another five-pointer in the 62nd minute.
Kearsney finished the game on a high note with a stunning try from Lwazi Mbebe, who showed off superb footwork to pick his way through the Clifton defence to score next to the uprights.
RESULTS
1st: Kearsney 50-0 Clifton
2nd: Kearsney 38-6 Clifton
6th: Kearsney 20-27 Clifton 3rd
16A: Kearsney 80-0 Clifton
15A: Kearsney 54-5 Clifton
14A: Kearsney 44-12 Clifton
14C: Kearsney 22-22 Clifton u14B
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