Month: April 2013

The past 6 days have proved very challenging for the Northwood 1^st team squad.  Wednesday last week saw them take on Scottish League champions Ayr United in a very cold and wet encounter under lights at Northwood. Northwood fielded a team made up of predominantly 2^nd team players, complimented by a few 1^st team players. Although the weather seemed made to order for the Scottish side, Northwood shifted gears when it mattered and scored a hard fought 15-8 victory.

On Saturday, the old ties between Jeppe Boys and Northwood were restored when all the Rugby, Hockey and chess teams played each other at Jeppe Boys, one of the oldest government schools in Johannesburg.  The 1^st team game showed the passion of both schools and the outcome was always in the balance.  The 1^st half belonged to Jeppe, with their speedy wings proving a handful for Northwood. With Jeppe appearing dominant, blood bin replacement Phiko Sobahle scored from a good set piece movement near the Jeppe try line.  The conversion by Sasassa Makhanye had the score line at 20-10 to Jeppe at the break.

The second half saw Northwood sticking to their strengths and turning in a powerful display of forward play.  While Jeppe had set the pace with their backs in the first half, Northwood dominated with their forwards in the second half.  After conceding a soft try to Jeppe, lock TC Edmunds powered his way over for what was a certain try, but the ref was unsighted and declared the ball “held up”.  Not to be denied, he drove over minutes later and was awarded the try.  The conversion by Makhanye closed the gap to 25-17. With 6 minutes to go, the ultra-consistent Trevor Nkwamba burst through a ruck to score untouched under the posts, while Makhanye ensured the score line reflected a 1 point difference.

Minutes later, despite some great defence by Northwood, Jeppe managed to score a try to take the score to 30-24.  A penalty just before full time gave Jeppe the victory by 33-24 in what was an epic clash.

Monday saw Northwood taking on St Benedict’s (JHB) in a tough encounter at home, the 3^rd game in 6 days.  With a number of key players injured or being rested, this was always going to be tough. Both sides traded penalties in the 1^st half, with St Benedict’s leading 6-3 at half time.  The 2^nd half proved just as tough, with Bennies right wing getting away to score an unconverted try.

However, the Northwood forwards stepped up again and powerful tries by Trevor Nkwamba (hooker) and Ngoni Chidoma (prop) and a conversion by Makhanye saw Northwood winning the game 15-11 and achieving the first victory by a KZN side over a JHB side this season.

The Northwood 1^st hockey team claimed a hard fought 4 – 1 victory against Jeppe over the weekend.

The game was a fiercely contested affair where both teams produced some great hockey. Northwood started the match slowly and it was Jeppe who earned the first penalty corner of the match. Northwood keeper Kyle Pillay pulled off an outstanding diving stick save from a Jeppe drag flick.

This spurred the Northwood team into action and they created their first penalty corner opportunity of the match. After a well worked variation Steve McManus was quick to latch onto a rebound to give Northwood a 1 – 0 lead. The team continued to play some fantastic hockey and created numerous scoring chances but some brilliant goal keeping from the Jeppe keeper and some poor finishing saw the score remain the same at half time.

The second half saw both teams produce some fine patches of hockey but it was Northwood who scored the second goal of the game when the brilliant Matthew de Sousa was fouled in the circle forcing a penalty stroke. Dale van der Merwe continued his scoring ways when he scored from the spot.

The second goal saw Jeppe raise their tempo and they had a good period of dominance where they created a number of penalty corner and scoring opportunities. They finally scored through a well worked penalty corner variation.

Once again this resulted in a quick response from the Northwood team and they managed convert another penalty corner when McManus scored his second rebound of the game taking the score to 3 – 1.

Jeppe threw everything at getting a result out of the game and left themselves open to the counter attack and Northwood managed to earn a penalty corner in the last minute of the game. After a number of re-awards they finally scored their fourth goal when Greg Wright tapped home a rebound to give Northwood a 4 – 1 victory.

The match was a hard fought affair with both teams playing some high quality hockey. The Jeppe team, coached by former South African captain Ryan Ravenscroft, were well drilled and played an attractive brand of hockey.

This result means that Northwood continues its fantastic start to the season making it 10 wins from as many matches.

 

Report by -Darryn Gallagher: Coach

The Northwood 1^st hockey team have started their season in emphatic fashion with 9 wins from 9 games. After convincing wins against Kearsney and Michaelhouse the team took on the highly rated Millfield School from England.

Millfield School

The game was an extremely competitive affair played in front of the entire school. Northwood came out the stronger of the two teams when they scored early through Matthew Robinson who latched onto a short corner rebound. Millfield struck back with a piece of individual brilliance after a lapse in concentration from the Northwood defense.

This sparked the home team into action and they played some dominant hockey with goals coming from Dale van der Merwe and Steve McManus to secure a solid 3 – 1 victory. This result gave the Northwood team some good confidence going into their annual Founders festival at Rondebosch School in Cape Town.

Founders Festival

First up at the festival was the traditionally strong school of Paul Roos and the match met all the pre-match hype when both teams played a fantastic brand of hockey. Northwood came out on top with a fantastic 4 – 2 win with goals from Simon du Plessis, Steve McManus, Dale van der Merwe and Matthew de Sousa.

Day two saw the team taking on Paarl HJS and Potchefstroom Boys High with Northwood producing dominant hockey to win 4 – 1 and 8 – 2 respectively.

The Paarl match was a physical affair with the opposition looking to break down Northwood’s fluid attacking brand of hockey. In the end Northwood had too much firepower with goals from Matthew Robinson, Steve McManus, Dale van der Merwe and Matthew de Sousa.

In the second match Potchefstroom came out the stronger and caught the Northwood team early with a well worked goal. This ignited the team into action and they scored 8 goals before conceding a second before the final whistle. Dale van der Merwe produced some brilliant finishing when he scored 4 goals with the others coming from Jamie Pillay, Simon du Plessis, Steve McManus and Matthew de Sousa.

Day three continued much the same as the previous day with Northwood stamping its dominance on the festival with emphatic victories against DF Malan (6 – 0) and Noordheuwel (5 – 0).

It was a good day for the team as not only did they continue their winning ways but they did not concede any goals in both games. Dale van der Merwe dominated the score sheet again with 4 more goals against DF Malan. The other scorers were Matthew de Sousa and Simon du Plessis.

The goals in the Noordheuwel match were scored by Steve McManus who got a brace, Dale van der Merwe, Matthew Robinson and an own goal from an unlucky defender.

On the last day Northwood’s final opposition were St Davids who had produced some competitive hockey throughout the festival. The Northwood team produced their best hockey of the season to date with pace and precision when they dominated from the first to last whistle to beat St Davids 8 – 0. Steve McManus and Dale van der Merwe both grabbed hat-tricks whilst the other goals came from Greg Wright and Matthew de Sousa.

The team played fantastic hockey throughout the festival and were lead brilliantly by the superb Matthew de Sousa. They scored a resounding 35 goals whilst only conceding 5. This run of form has seen the team ranked as number 2 in the country on the same points as Wynberg who sit in first position. Whilst it is still early in the season it is good to see Northwood hockey amongst the top schools in the country.

There were some outstanding goal scoring achievements over the six games with Dale van der Merwe scoring 14 and Steve McManus 8.

The other notable achievement was that this was Northwood’s third consecutive undefeated Founders festival in as many years.

One of our favourite events of the year is almost here!  The Northwood Annual Golf Day is scheduled for Friday 3 May at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club and we welcome your entries and support for this fun-filled (and rather competitive) event!  Please click on the link below to access the entry form.

[prettyfilelink src=”http://www.northwoodschool.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Players-entry-form1.pdf” type=”pdf”]Northwood Annual Golf Day[/prettyfilelink]

For Further information, or if you can assist with prizes or on the day support, please contact:

Jenni-lyn van Niekerk (031) 563-6501 ext 353 / email jvniekerk@nwood.co.za