Glenwood too strong for Grey

Glenwood’s 1st hockey team travelled to Bloemfontein to play Grey College in their final outdoor fixture for the 2013 season.

After their last 2 outings against Affies and Maritzburg College where they recorded two convincing victories, the boys’ in green were determined to end their season on a high.

Glenwood appeared to take their time adjusting to the climate and surface and Grey Bloem took full advantage, pressing for an early goal.

They were rewarded in the 7th minute when the Glenwood defence had a lapse in concentration and allowed Grey to turnover possession outside the “D” and take the early lead they were looking for.

Although Glenwood enjoyed most of the possession, it took until the 18th minute, when they were awarded a short corner, for Andile Phehlukwayo to even the score from a well worked set piece.

After the break, Glenwood found the rhythm they were lacking in the 1st half and it was as early as the 4th minute when James Dellis picked the ball up outside the Grey “D” and skipped past 2 challenges before firing the ball into the backboard giving Glenwood a 2-1 lead.

Six minutes later, Glenwood scored arguably their best goal of the game when Dellis bisected the Grey midfield with an accurate pass that found Tanner Bottomley who ran half the length of the field before crossing the ball into the “D” where Phehlukwayo slid in to deflect the ball into the goal and extend the Glenwood lead.

To their credit, Grey Bloem came back fighting and earned themselves 2 short corners, only to see the first one acrobatically saved by keeper Michael Labuschagne and the second one by captain, Callan Pearce. Labuschagne made sure of the 2 goal cushion 10 minutes later with a double save and then Keegan Hezlett produced a powerful drive into the Grey “D” and skilfully flicked the ball past the rushing keeper.

Pearce had the final say of the game when he deflected the ball past the Grey keeper after Jason Reed played the ball into Bottomley’s path who, in turn, hit a long hard drive towards the Grey goal.

Both teams contributed towards an exciting game although the final score of 5-1 to the Green Machine was well deserved.

Well done to the boys and coaching staff for their successful season and a special thank you to all the parents who supported the team and gave up their time during the year to assist with fundraising and duty days. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

-ECR Sportswave - Hannelie Erasmus

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @ECRSportswave