Match won, league lost
BEAULIEU – While they did not win the league, Beaulieu Hockey Academy’s men's premier side ended the season on a high finishing second.
Beaulieu men’s premier league hockey team was pipped at the post to the Southern Hockey Association outdoor league title.
The season had gone down to the wire with Beaulieu and Wanderers contesting the log lead, but it was the latter who were crowned champions after beating Shumbas on October 10.
However, Beaulieu ended the league on a high note when they scored nine goals against Morningside Country Club in their final match of the league on October 17 in Dainfern.
Beaulieu started strongly against Morningside with two goals from Julian Hykes and Keanan Wax, and the few spectators cheered when Beaulieu defender Kyle Naicker scored his debut goal for the club to take it to 3–0.
The second chukka saw continued pressure from the midfield and forwards of Beaulieu and Wax took advantage to score his second in the first minute. With six minutes left in the chukka, forward Banzi Giyoze scored two goals in quick succession to put his team 6–0 ahead. Seconds thereafter, Hykes bagged his second.
The second half of the match saw a slight momentum shift as Morningside’s defence improved but Beaulieu still found a way with Gerald Mpopo getting on the scoresheet.
In the dying seconds of the last chukka, Beaulieu were awarded a corner and it was Hykes who converted to bag his hat-trick.
Beaulieu captain and vice-captain, Jesse Salo and Sizwe Mthembu respectively, said they were disappointed to not win the league, but aimed to have fun in their last match.
They were also proud of how their team played throughout the season.
“There has been a massive improvement this season. From the get-go of the league, we said we are winning the league. Setting up that benchmark from the beginning is what set us up being at the top of the league,” said Mthembu.
Salo added, “It is a hard pill to swallow as we believed we could win the league with the quality we had. Considering everything we have been through as a team, especially losing our coach, we have made our presence known in the league and beat the log leaders twice, quite comfortably.”
