On Monday, 2 March, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet hosted Gqeberhaโs Hoรซrskool Pearson High School for a very competitive hockey fixture.
The afternoon kicked off in blustery weather conditions with the u/14A and u/16A matches, setting the stage for an exciting showdown.
Right from the start, it was evident that the Pearson sides were determined to secure a victory. However, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง๐ก๐จ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐.
Despite their hard-fought efforts and passionate play, the u/14A team unfortunately lost 0-1, and the u/16A team faced a 0-4 defeat. Nevertheless, ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ถ/14 ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ/16 ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ.
These encounters against Pearson provided our young players with valuable match experience early in the season. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ and grow throughout the rest of the season, especially considering the inspiring moments of play showcased by the Union girls today.
Following these matches, Union’s ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ took to the field with determination. They gained the upper hand in the first chukka, with Charlize Vorster scoring the game’s first goal. ๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฆ๐ง๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต, ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ.
However, despite their best efforts, Pearson managed to score two goals in the 3rd and 4th chukka, ultimately winning the match 2-1.
It was a hard-fought battle that showcased the resilience and skill of both teams.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ด๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐!
Armed with lessons learnt from this encounter against one of SA’s top hockey sides, the girls are keen as mustard to travel to Gqeberha this weekend, where they will compete at the EP hockey trials.