U18 Gryphons are champions once again
BEAULIEU – The U18 Gauteng Gryphons black team take the title of All-Star champions thanks to the patience and experience.
The U18 Gauteng Gryphons black team cruised to a 6–1 win against the U16 Gauteng Gryphons black team at the All Star indoor hockey finals on 8 November at Cliffview Primary School.
Gryphons players were separated into different teams, named after a colour, to compete in the tournament. Matches leading up to the semi-finals took place on 7 November, with the U18 team winning all their matches convincingly. The U16 team lost only one match. Meeting again in the final, the match was set to be an interesting one.
Players from the Beaulieu Hockey Academy, including Keenan Wax, Taheer Isaacs, Fawaaz Kahder, Travis Krumples, Phemelo Ramatlotlo and Diante’ Gordon, once again showed how well they work together. With an early penalty corner in the first chukka to the U18 side, the ball was deflected into the goals thanks to Taheer to push his side one goal up. Two quick goals from Ross Breytenbach and Taheer gave the U18s the edge in the second chukka, even with heavy defending from the younger side.
The first half ended 4–0 to the U18 Gryphons after another goal came from Fawaaz. Into the third chukka, the U18s had a chance of being on the board with a goal with a penalty corner. It was then converted to a penalty stroke due to a foul caused by defence. Jamie Seale pushed the ball past keeper Phemelo to give the U16s a point on the scoreboard. Two penalty corners later were awarded to the U18 boys led to another goal coming from Travis, which extended the team’s score to 5–1 with one more chukka to go.
The U18s had a number of penalty corners, with one attempt banging into the side post. There was a hard-fought display by the U16 side to keep most shots at goal to a minimum, but it was not enough as Keenan ran down the left side to add one more goal for the U18s, ending their match as 6–1. Coach of the U18 black squad, Justin Rosenberg said his team’s maturity showed throughout the match and allowed patience to turn into goals for their side.
“It’s been a tough weekend where we have played a few games against the same opposition, but they definitely brought their A game against the youngsters in this match. They [U16] gave us a good run for our money,” he said.
