AFTER the thrill of the opening day’s action, local crowds were once again entertained by a day of goals and more in the hockey IPT being played in Pietermaritzburg.
After two days both Group A and Group B are perfectly split, with the top three having 100% records and the bottom three yet to taste victory.
The pick in the A Section was undoubtedly in the closing game of the day when the defending champions, the KZN Raiders, took on the SA Invitational U21 side.
The coastal side got off to the better start when South African striker Bili Ntuli scored in the fifth minute, before Greg Last fired home a penalty corner.
Sam Mvimbi fought back for the SA youngsters with his own penalty corner that ended the quarter 2-1 to the Raiders, a score that would remain until the 43rd minute when Damian Kimfley regained the two-goal cushion for the champions. That lead was short-lived as Michael Forrest cut the deficit to one.
A combination of good defence and Gowan Jones was able to repel any chances that the youngsters created to hold onto a well-deserved victory.
In Group B Eastern Province fought back from one goal down to win 3-2 with Malgraff in the goals again, while the other humdinger of the day saw the battle of the “B” teams produce “A-Class” quality when Witsies took on Pens.
Pens came out firing and led 3-1 at the end of the first quarter through a brace from Jordan Turnbull and a goal from Dave Agar either side of a Stuart Phillip strike.
Witsies methodically fought back under the tutelage of Anthony Woodhouse, and went into the half-time break only one down thanks to Matthew Povall’s strike.
In the third quarter they turned up the heat even more and former SA U21 skipper Kyle Lion-Cachet levelled before Chad Futcher scored what would be the decisive goal, maintaining Witsies undefeated status.
In the three other games Southerns walloped the Nuggets with hat-tricks for Julian Hykes and Richard Pautz. Tuffy Western Province were dominant against North West with a brace for both Luthando Jonas and Connor Beauchamp, while the Northern Blues were hardly tested in a routine win against the Mynahs.
The Letuka twins each got on the scoresheet for their province. — WR.
D AY 2 RESULTS:
A Section
Southern Gauteng 12-0 SG Nuggets
SG Witsies 4-3 WP Peninsula
Northern Blues 5-0 KZN Mynahs
Eastern Province 3-2 Free State
Tuffy Western Province 7-0 North West
KZN Raiders 3-2 SA Invitational U21
B Section
Northern Daisies 3-4 Northern Cape B
SA Country Districts 3-0 KZN Inland
Mpumalanga 4-1 Northern Cape A