JONATHAN COOK
at St Albans in Pretoria

The final of the A Section, and the gold medal match, was won 3-2 by Western Province against a brave Amathole-Border at St Albans in Pretoria Saturday.

In the first half, which ended 1-1, the title showdown billed as the Battle of the Strikers, it was Amathole-Border who scored in the 10th minute when captain and striker Callan Hansen controlled a loose ball picked up in the WP 23 m area beautifully, and picked his spot (1-0).

WP hit back immediately, when Justin Prins followed up his penalty corner injection by deflecting in from close (1-1).

The Capetonians earned a number of PCs while Amathole were effective in mounting attacks down the right wing, a number being orchestrated by Dylan Billingham. Hansen was most unfortunate when a great snap-shot cannoned into the post.

The second half saw play again swing from end to end with both sides having very good scoring chances (Zubayr Hamza and Ryan Julius for WP and Siya Sityana for Amathole). Hamza found space to drill in the 2-1 goal for WP but Hansen replied from the penalty stroke spot (2-2).

The coveted winner came when WP made a hash of a penalty corner but in the subsequent goalmouth melee Prins reacted well to fire in the gold medal goal.

It gave WP a memorable double as they won the SA U18 Boys IPT as well.

The B Section final and promotion went to South Free State, who beat Amathole B 2-1 in the key match.

The final classification matches in the SA U16 Boys IPT A Section at St Albans in Pretoria produced some fiercely competitive matches.

The A Section relegation battle between East Gauteng and North West was remarkable for its passion and intensity.

It was clear that A Section survival meant an enormous amount to the teams and their personnel, but in the end, in a match where play swung from circle to circle and the goalkeepers were called on to make some amazing saves, it was the lone goal by Easterns’ Joshua Beneke that proved the difference.

The classification match for fifth place was an equally nailbiting affair, but KZN Coastals – who many felt were unlucky not to make the semi-finals – prevailed 2-1 against the impressive Boland, who have made great strides in this tournament under coach Jacques Grobler.

Coastals scored through the prolific goalscorer Stephen McManus with the impressive Javed Mea getting the other, while Marno Stigling got on the scoresheet for the Bolanders.

FINAL RESULTS AND CLASSIFICATIONS

A Section: (1/2) WP 3 Amathole 2; (3/4) Southern Gauteng 2 KZN Inland 1; (5/6) KZN Coastals 2 Boland 1; (7/8) WP B 2 Northerns 0; (9/10) SWD 4 EP 2; (11/12) East Gauteng 1 North West 0.

B Section: (1/2) South Free State 2 Amathole B 1; (3/4) South Gauteng B 1 (4) KZN Inland B 1 (3); (5/6) Northerns B 1 KZN Coastal B 0; (7/8) Mpumalanga 1 North Cape 0; (9/10) North Free State 2 East Gauteng B 1; (11/12) Limpopo 2 North West B (0).