Ashton International College Ballito beat Lewes Old Grammar School 7-0 in their mixed hockey match at the Oxford Oval on Thursday.

Lewes Old Grammar School is an independent school from Sussex, England. The school started during the reign of Henry VIII in 1512 and is 513 years old and is on a sport and cultural tour to South Africa. Both schools also competed in chess and football at Ashton yesterday.

Despite being out of the field hockey season, Ashton was excellent. They scored in all four 10-minute periods, putting seven past the opposition, while keeping an impressive clean sheet.

Ashton’s clinical finishing and rock-solid defence were equally as impressive as their transition from defence to attack. The home side kept the opposition at bay before springing dangerous counterattacks, which the tourists struggled to cope with.

Ashton led 1-0 after a tight first period but two more goals in the second stanza, saw the hosts take a deserved 3-0 lead into halftime. As the match wore on, the hosts kept their intensity as the visitor’s tired.

Ashton restricted the English side to limited opportunities, while making the most of theirs. They increasingly caught out the visitors in midfield, winning back possession in the central areas and spreading the ball quickly out wide.

Lewes Old Grammar continued to push for a score after the break but were quicky five down going into the last quarter. By now, the weather conditions had taken full affect as both teams’ tempo began to drop in the late afternoon heat.

There was still some energy in the tank, however, as Ashton scored twice in the final quarter to cap a seven-star performance in front of the local supporters.

There are no field hockey fixtures over the weekend. There are, however, an inter-school indoor hockey tournament at Thomas More College in Kloof. Ashton’s 1st Team will play Danville and Westville today followed by a match against Reddam Umhlanga on Saturday morning.

Ashton’s U14B side has two fixtures at Reddam Umhlanga on Saturday. The U16B side take on Durban girls High School at home, while the 2nd XI play Westville Girls High School in Westville tomorrow morning.

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