Badgers too strong for Kearsney

The Badgers’ trio of superbly taken goals from field play went to captain Andrew Cronje in the second minute, Matthew McConkey in the 48th and Ryan Crowe in the 52nd. 

An action-packed 12 matches in 42 hours came to a fitting close and the Badgers deservedly collected the R25 000 winners’ cheque.

Throughout this outstanding event, the Badgers were compact in defence, inventive in midfield and composed in front of goal. The Cape Town side were also indebted to their inspirational goalkeeper Mark Turner, who made a number of breath-taking saves at vital moments in his team’s four matches. 

The impressive Kearsney outfit made the Badgers work hard for the victory, yet the goal scoring opportunities they created didn’t translate into dividends. In the playoff for third and fourth places, host club Riverside beat Johannesburg’s Wanderers Jockeys 6-3 after leading a comfortable 4-1 at the changeover. 

Six Riverside players got on the scoresheet, which was a mark of their cohesion and support play.

The strikes were shared between Terence Kidd, Taine Paton and Karl Oftebro from penalty corners, plus field goals by Calvin Price, Mike Wiggett and Steve Wiggett.

The Jockeys, who hinted at a comeback when they narrowed the goal-deficit from 0-4 to 3-5 with 11 minutes left, scored through a Stu Ledeboer field goal, captain Stuart Spooner’s penalty stroke and Mike Heyink via a penalty corner.  

In the playoff for fifth and sixth places, Johannesburg’s Old Edwardians shaded Malik Old Albanians of Pretoria 2-1, their goals from field play going to Luke Sanan and Tyron Martin. Old Albanians had led 1-0 at half-time thanks to vice-captain Malcolm Ratz’s 13th minute strike.

GREENFIELDS ELITE CLUB CHALLENGE RESULTS AND FIXTURES

Friday

Western Province CC Badgers 3 - 2 Old Edwardians
Kearsney HC 2 – 1 Malik Old Albanians 
Wanderers Jockeys 1 – 0 Riverside HC

Saturday

Riverside HC 5 – 1 Malik Old Albanians 
Kearsney HC 7 – 1 Old Edwardians 
WP CC Badgers 3 – 0 Wanderers Jockeys 
Old Edwardians 2 – 0 Malik Old Albanians 
Wanderers Jockeys 5 – 2 Kearsney HC 
WP CC Badgers 2 – 0 Riverside

Sunday

09h00 (turf 2) – Old Edwardians 2 – 1 Malik Old Albanians (5th / 6th place playoff)
09h30 (turf 1) – Riverside Hockey Club 6 - 3 Wanderers Jockeys (3rd / 4th place playoff)
11h30 (turf 1) – FINAL WPCC Badgers 3 - 0 Kearsney HC 

(Photo Supplied)

Twitter - @ECRSportswave