There were big wins, late comebacks, shootouts and more in a frenetic day of Semi-Final action at St. Stithians College as the identities of the tournament finalists were revealed.
Women’s A Section – Southern Gauteng 0-3 Northern Blues
The two teams last met in the semi-final of the IPT at Hartleyvale in 2021. On that occasion Southern Gauteng came out on top via a shootout and were hoping that the omens were on their side having lost 1-0 in the group stage to the Northern Blues.
It was a tight game with both teams unable to convert from early penalty corners, but a Fourie sister double on the stroke of half time gave the Blues the ascendancy. Old sister Tegan opened the scoring with a fine stroke before Cerian netted to double the lead.
In the final quarter Marguerite van Wyk showed great coolness to make it 3-0 and secure a final for the Northern Blues once again.
Women’s A Section – Western Province (3) 3-3 (1) South Africa U21
What. A. Game. The end-to-end exhibition of attacking hockey, rearguard defense and heart stopping moments will live long in the memory. It was Ane Janse van Vuuren who started the game well for the junior nationals taking a 1-0 lead. But in the second quarter that lead was erased and replaced by a deficit. Daniella de Oliveira and Ashleigh Thomas scored in quick succession to put the game on its head.
Paige Thomas made it 3-1 with 13 minutes remaining and it looked like Western Province had secured a place in the final. SA Hockey5s duo Germarie Spershott and Rea Phume had other ideas and scored twice in the final 3 minutes – one a candidate for goal of the tournament – as they levelled the game and sent it to shootout.
Province was able to show the qualities that made them champions 12 months ago and triumphed through the shootout with Marlise van Tonder the star to secure a place in a repeat final against Northern Blues.
In the 5-8 Playoffs it was a massive win for North West over SG Witsies while KZN Raiders ensured their survival in the A Section with a 2-0 win over Free State.
SA Hockey IPT 2024 B Section – WP Pens have One Hand on the Trophy
Northern Daisies kept their hopes of a tournament victory alive when they put Mpumalanga to the sword. Shanay de Klerk made it one-nil in the first quarter, and it was doubled a couple minutes later by Elizabeth Porter.
Captain Nadia Kitshoff made it 3-0 in favour of the Daisies at the half-time break. The second half mirrored the first, with a further 3 goals for Daisies scored by Pretty Morema, De Klerk and Kitshoff, to wrap up a big 6-0 win.
In a riveting battle SACD stormed ahead going 3-0 up at half time against Eastern Province at the half-time. Jayde Viljoen scored either side of Ntokozo Dube and it looked great for SACD. It even looked better when Lisa February made it 4-0 with 10 remaining.
Eastern Province then created a sublime finish with Alucedo Dunga, Leschae Kops and Cassidy Williams to make it 4-3 just before the hooter, when they almost found the equaliser only to be denied.
WP Peninsula all but passed their final hurdle on the way to the B Section title and a promotion to the A Section, knowing that a victory would place them just one point away from securing the title.
Jesse Gradwell gave them a perfect start against KZN Mynahs and they added a brace from Isabella Booyens to make it 3-0 at half-time. Danielle Pillay pulled one back for Mynahs before a late Lane Barnard strike put one golden hand on the trophy for Western Province Peninsula.
SA Hockey IPT 2024 Fixtures in Johannesburg on 14 September, 2024
08:00 Women’s A Section – 7th Place: Free State vs SG Witsies
08:30 Women’s B Section: Eastern Gauteng vs WP Peninsula
09:45 Women’s A Section – 5th Place: KZN Raiders vs North West
12:00 Women’s A Section – FINAL: Northern Blues vs Western Province
13:15 Women’s B Section: Eastern Province vs Mpumalanga
15:00 Women’s A Section – Bronze Medal Match: SA U21 vs Southern Gauteng
15:30 Women’s B Section: Northern Daisies vs SACD
Original Copy: SA Hockey, with editing by gsport
Photo Caption: The Fourie sisters gave the Blues the ascendancy in a tight game on the stroke of half time before Marguerite van Wyk showed great coolness to secure the repeat final 3-0 against Southern Gauteng in their 2024 SA Hockey IPT semi-final in Johannesburg on Friday, 13 September, 2024. Photo: Zac Zinn / Belgotex Sport
Photo 2 Caption: Province showed the qualities that made them champs 12 months ago, winning the shootout to secure a final against Blues. Photo: Zac Zinn / Belgotex Sport
