Eighth regional trophy for Wartburg

uMvoti and oThukela RegionalBack again, Wartburg Kirchdorf School successfully defended their title and hoisted the uMvoti and oThukela Regional trophy for the eighth time at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge that Wembley College hosted on Saturday. Wartburg met Greytown High School in a fiercely fought final where they managed to win the game 1-0.Forty-eight seconds into the game, Wartburg secured their first set play. The ball was sent to the top of the D, redirected to the player on the post who attempted to net their first goal.

The result was a retake due to an unfortunate foul halting the shot. Wartburg had to dig deep as Greytown’s defenders blooped four more times in the circle giving the defending champs five takes of their short corner set pieces. Nearing four minutes into the game, Iminathi Mnqayi finally broke the cycle and netted the tournament winning goal.

The ball was sent up to Mnqayi, wasting no time she zapped a shot off, finding the back of the box. A second before the final hooter sounded, Greytown kept everyone on the edge of their seats as they earned their second short corner of the game. In the all or nothing corner, Wartburg held their composure and managed to neatly clear the ball from danger, securing their eighth title.

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There was no one team that dominated the day, with all teams having a mixed bag of results.At the conclusion of the pool games, both Hamilton College, making their second appearance, and Greytown High School were all squared up on points, goals for and goals against. A quick penalty shoot-out ensued where Greytown were victorious 1-0 to finish second in the pool.In the first semi-final, first in Pool A — Wembley College met second in Pool B — Wartburg. At the blast of the final whistle, both teams were level on 0-0.

The game decider moved to a penalty shootout. After the first round, both teams had slotted in two goals out of their three attempts. A sudden death followed. Wembley went first but were unable to convert while Wartburg’s Phiwo Ntobela charged into the circle, meeting Wembley’s keeper, Stacy Sims-Handcock, rolling off the convergence, Ntobela scooped the ball in just before the dreaded eight second whistle claiming the first slot for the final.

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