Dundee High School’s Hayley Wentzel attempts to stop the feisty forward Olive Masuku from Ferrum High in their semi-final of the Northern KZN Regional at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge.
 

A sparkling performance by both Ferrum Hoërskool and Pionier Hoërskool entertained the crowds in a riveting final at the Northern KZN Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge on Ferrum’s brand new astro on Saturday 26 February. 

 
After 20 minutes of spectacular hockey, the game ended in a goalless draw with the final heading to a penalty shootout. In a moment of pure magic, Pionier’s Chezaan van Rensburg lifted the ball as soon as the whistle blew, in a surreal display of talent, bounced the ball on her stick as she made her way calmly towards the goals. Flummoxing Ferrum’s keeper, Clarisse Whitehead, the #7 steadied herself and then beautifully looped the ball over the advancing defender’s head. In these 8 seconds of sheer brilliance, van Rensburg gave Pionier the edge and eventually the winning goal, allowing her team to retain their 2020 title. 
 
Chatting post-match, van Rensburg shared, “This is my first time that I did the overhead in a tournament, I wasn’t nervous in the moment because I knew that God was with me and He knows the way.”
 
Pionier’s Zendi Zondo, who mostly had a quiet tournament at the back, stood firm in her three rounds in the shootout against Ferrum’s attack, keeping a clean scoresheet. Including having to stand up to a penalty stroke in the first round, which luckily for the visitors, hit the post. 
 
In the 20 minutes of running play, Pionier dominated most of the game, whilst Ferrum looked dangerous in short, sharp bursts. Only two short corners were awarded, both for Pionier, but the Ferrum defence managed fantastically under pressure. 
 
Captain for Pionier, Tarien Davel stated, “At the beginning we were a little bit scared, so we put everything in. We didn’t do so well in the first round but then we built ourselves up and at the end, we just enjoyed ourselves and put our minds to the game doing the best that we could. I am so proud of these girls; they really did amazing. The final was tough, but it was nice hockey, I loved it.” Talking about van Rensburg’s audacious move, she said, “We have seen her do it before and as soon as I saw her do it today, I knew we were going to win. I have so much faith in her, she always does those moves and we are so proud of her.”
 
Top goal scorer from their five runs on the astro went to Annari Roos from Ferrum, who tried valiantly in the final to add to her five goals but just wasn’t able to beat the strong backline of Pionier. Roos, a Grade 11 player who dreams of playing for the KZN Inland team, enthused after the game, “The tournament allows you to try new things, learn new stuff and move forward as a team. Even though we lost, we had a fun tournament.”
 
Leading up to the finals, Ferrum went 1 nil up in the first semi-final, working hard in their opposition, Dundee High School’s circle, with three short corners and several searching shots. Striker for the hosts, Annari Roos added to her tally of four goals, including a hattrick in her final pool game. The Ferrum Striker, Roos fired in her fifth goal for the day after 8 minutes of play from the top of the D giving them a spot in the regional final. Hard working, Chardeney Beamson also had a couple of unsuccessful attempts.
 
Pionier made the ball do the work in their semi-final with some fantastic, silky skills earning 2 goals against St Dominic’s. On both occasions, the visiting team had breakaways down the right, with a quick ball into the circle, finding their player camped on the post who easily tapped the ball in. The first goal was slotted in by the left link, Johanné Smith and the second goal knocked in by the left striker, Mieke Steenkamp.

At the conclusion of the pool games, host school Ferrum were the table toppers in pool A with 9 points, followed by St Dominic’s School with 6 points, Newcastle High ended third with two points and late entry, Vryheid Landbou with 1 point. 
 
In pool B, it went down to goal difference between the top two teams Dundee High School and Pionier Hoërskool who both ended on 5 points after their two games. Pionier got a handful of goals in their final game, while Dundee didn’t manage to break through the Sarel Cilliers defence. Final standings Pionier Hoërskool in first with 9 points, Dundee High School on 5 points, Vryheid High School on 4 points and Sarel Cilliers with 0 points. 
 
Umpire of the Day went to Dave Pinder from Sarel Cilliers. 
 
Pionier Hoërskool is the first team to guarantee their spot at the Grand Finals that takes place at St Mary’s DSG in Kloof in July. The next two Regional takes place this weekend in Pietermaritzburg with St John’s hosting the PMB Central and St Anne’s in Hilton welcomes teams for the PMB North Regional. 
 
For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram. All the games at this year’s challenge will be screened live by SuperSport Schools. 
 

Overall Results

1 Pionier Hoërskool 2 Ferrum Hoërskool 3 Dundee High School 4 St Dominic’s 5 Vryheid High School 6 Newcastle High School 7 Sarel Cilliers 8 Vryheid Landbou

Pool Results

A 1 Ferrum Hoërskool 9 points, St Dominic’s School 6pts, Newcastle High School 2pts, Vryheid Landbou 1pt
B 1 Pionier Hoërskool 9 pts, Dundee High School 6 pts, 3 Vryheid High School 4 pts, 4 Sarel Cilliers 1 pt

Games results

Pool games 

A Ferrum Hoërskool 0 vs St Dominic’s 0
A Newcastle High School 0 vs Vryheid Landbou 0
B Dundee High School 1 vs VHS 0 Goal scorer Amahle Potgieter Centre Forward
B Pionier Hoërskool 2 vs Sarel Cilliers 0 Goal scorers Captain Tarien Davel Centre Forward 1st goal, Zöe Richards Right Wing 2nd goal 
A Ferrum Hoërskool 2 vs Vryheid Landbou 0 Goal scorers 1st goal Captain Marlene Combrink, 2nd goal Annari Roos Striker 
A St Dominic’s 0 vs Newcastle High School 0
B Sarel Cilliers 0 vs Vryheid High School 1 Goal scorer Lindo Buthelezi Left Link 
B Dundee High School 0 vs Pionier Hoërskool 0
A Vryheid Landou 0 vs St Dominic’s 1 Goal scorer Abongile Masondo Striker
A Ferrum Hoërskool 4 vs Newcastle High School 0 Goal scorers 1st,2nd and 4th goals Annari Roos Stricker, 3rd goal Chantè Gale 
B Pionier Hoërskool 5 vs Vryheid High School 0 Goal scorers 1st goal Chezaan van Rensburg Centre Link, 2nd and 3rd goals Captain Tarien Davel, th and 5th goals Vice-Captain Mieke Steenkamp Left Striker 4
B Dundee High School 0 vs Sarel Cilliers 0
Cross Pool Games
7 / 8 Playoff Vryheid Landbou 0 vs Sarel Cilliers 1 Goal scorer Vice-Captain Kylin Swanepoel Left Wing
Semi Final 1 Ferrum Hoërskool 1 vs Dundee High School 0 Goal scorer Annari Roos Striker
Semi Final 2 Pionier Hoërskool 2 vs St Dominics 0 Goal scorer 1st goal Johanné Smith Left Link, 2nd goal Mieke Steenkamp
5 / 6 Playoff Newcastle High School 0 vs Vryheid High School 1 Goal scorer Estia Breytenbach Left Wing
Bronze Game Dundee High School 1 vs St Dominic’s 0 Goal scorer Amahle Potgieter Centre Forward
Gold / Silver Game Ferrum Hoërskool 0 (0) vs Pionier Hoërskool 0 (1)