K-Day girls hockey ends in draw

By JESSICA FELDTMAN

The K-Day festivities continued on Saturday 16 June at Webster Astro as the numerous DSG and Kingswood College girls’ hockey teams battled for ultimate bragging rights. The cold Saturday morning did not stop both schools from displaying great team effort.

DSG dominated the day, winning the majority of their matches against Kingswood. The U14 A DSG team started the day off with an incredible 7-0 win against Kingswood, while all the U16 DSG teams won their matches. The atmosphere built up toward the day’s peak and the excitement was evident through both U16A teams’ spirit. The match seemed to be even but once DSG scored the first goal, three more quickly followed. The U16 A DSG team walked away with a 4-0 victory.

The second teams seemed to continue where the U16 teams left off. Both sides were extremely energetic in their gameplay and Kingswood were able to break when they claimed possession, but the DSG side broke down all attacking play well. Within the final minutes, Kingswood were forced into placing a defender in goals without gear after the Kingswood keeper limped off from a bad collision in trying to clear her lines. The game finished 6-1 to DSG.

After traditional dancing from both schools’ grade 8s, the crowd was ready for the much anticipated first team games. Both teams started the game off with a high level of intensity. Due to Kingswood’s good connecting passes, they quickly dominated the first half. After a brilliant run by Zinathi Mbenyana, Kingswood were able to score the first goal. Kingswood continued to create many opportunities throughout the first half but all shots at goal were deflected by DSG’s goalkeeper.

The second half started off with both teams seeming more determined than ever. Due to impressive skills displayed by DSG, they were quickly awarded a penalty corner. The brilliant drag flick resulted in DSG scoring the only goal for the second half. DSG dominated most of the second half and they were awarded multiple short corners, however Kingswood showed great defensive skills and the goalkeeper managed to save all the shots at goal. After neither team were able to convert their final opportunities. The nail-biting match ended with a 1-1 draw.

Both teams’ coaches expressed their pride for their teams. Kingswood Coach, Bevan Bennet, said, “I was really proud of my girls as I thought they handled the stress of the day and pressure out on them with all the hype so well. In the end, the two teams were evenly matched, and the draw proved the fair result.”