Category: Hockey

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to all the Union High School hockey players who have been selected to represent the 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘 this year!

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲 will take the field as the u/14A team’s goalie, with 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 and 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀 representing the u/14B side.

𝘈 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴: 𝘈𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢y𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶/14 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘢, 𝘜𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪, 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯-𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘒𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶/16 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮.

We are also proud of the players selected for the u/18B side, 𝗔𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗲 and 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁 and 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶/18 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦.

Our 1st senior hockey girls participated in the annual 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗚 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 in East London over the long weekend.

The team started their campaign off strong against Cambridge High School on Thursday evening, claiming an 8-1 victory.

The team’s second match of the festival was against GHS, drawing 3-3. The girls followed it up with a solid 2-0 win against Jim Fouché on Friday evening.

Our 1st senior hockey girls concluded their 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗚 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟 campaign with a challenging match against Hoërskool Sasolburg that ended in a 3-1 loss, and a hard-fought 1-all draw against Hoërskool Duineveld.

Well done on a stellar effort, girls!

Facing Pearson is always a demanding fixture, and while the results may not reflect the effort, our teams showed immense heart and resilience.
U16A lost 6-0
U14A lost 3-0
1st Team lost 5-0 Pearson capitalized on their set plays, scoring three goals from short corners, a penalty flick, and a well-worked field goal.

Despite the losses, I was incredibly proud of how the girls handled themselves. They showed grit, fought until the final whistle, and continued to play within our structures.

Game 1 vs The Wykeham Collegiate (TWC) – Lost 4-2

Our opening match was an extremely tough and a disappointing start to the tournament. We lacked cohesion, struggling to communicate effectively and execute our structure. Our passing game—usually one of our strengths—was almost non-existent, and we failed to string together three consecutive passes. Our movement off the ball was static, decision-making was rushed, and we looked like a group of individuals rather than a team. It was a harsh reality check as everything that could have gone wrong, did.

Game 2 vs Witteberg – Lost 4-1

Unfortunately, game two followed a similar pattern. We looked scattered, lacking confidence in our own abilities and trust in the system. Self-belief was missing, and hesitation crept into our play. Basic errors and poor decision making cost us the game .We left the field not just beaten on the scoreboard but mentally defeated. The performance was not a reflection of our potential, and we knew we needed a serious wake-up call.

Game 3 vs Oranje Meisieskool 2 (OMS2) – Lost 1-0

After two difficult results and a harsh team talk, the first team made a collective decision to shift their mindset. We needed to find our  “spirit “ again. Instead of making excuses, we took ownership of our mistakes, analyzing where we went wrong and how we could improve. The energy in our warm-up was different—we were determined to turn things around. While we were still far from perfect, we showed phases of the hockey we know we are capable of. Our defensive structure held firm, we started linking better in midfield and there was a renewed hunger in our play. Slowly but surely, we were beginning to look like ‘Union’ again.

Game 4 vs St Dominic’s – Drew 1-1

Our final game of the tournament was a major step in the right direction. We rediscovered our team identity, playing with intensity, purpose, and a fighting spirit that had been missing in earlier matches. We found our rhythm, improved our passing accuracy, and showed composure under pressure. Our defensive unit absorbed pressure brilliantly, our midfielders connected well with the strikers, and we created dangerous attacking opportunities. The result may have been a draw, but the performance was a victory in itself.

Bethlehem has always been a tough tournament and while we didn’t get the results we wanted, we take valuable lessons forward. We are not yet where we need to be but we showed resilience and phases of high-performance hockey. The road ahead is long, but we are committed to the process. Now, it’s time to regroup, sharpen our Tactics and prepare for the challenges ahead—starting with Pearson this weekend.

Under 14 results
Vs Witteberg won 2-1
Vs Eunice lost 2-0
Vs OMS lost 6-0
Vs Menlopark lost 3-0

Epic clash of the sticks at Greg Belling Festival

On Friday, 13 March, Union High School’s 1^st hockey team travelled to East London to participate in the annual Greg Belling Festival.

The first game was against Kingswood High School, the travel to East London appeared to show that the girls were fatigued and although they tried their best, but they could not convert opportunities.  This resulted in them losing their first challenge 3 – 1, with a great goal converted by Chloe Shires.

After a good-nights rest the girls came prepared for an early morning start against Eldoraine High School.

The challenge was set and the girls were caught off guard by finding themselves 1 – 0 down.  This was short-lived as Jade Shires equalized to take the girls into half time 1 – 1.

After a brilliant team effort, the girls found themselves 2 – 1 up in the third quarter with a great finished goal from Sonwabisa Mroro. The fourth quarter was a continuous battle which ended with Eldoraine equalizing with a tied final score of 2 – 2.

The afternoon brought the almighty challenge of Hoёrskool Menlopark from Pretoria. Clearly the underdogs, Union took to the field with pride and managed to hold the girls to a 6 – 0 defeat, showing endless grit and heart to keep the tough competition at bay.

Union’s final encounter on Sunday was against local Eastern Cape school, Collegiate Girls High School. A tough final competitor, but the girls were adamant for a good result.  The competitive edge clearly showed as the girls held the Collegiate strikers to a 1 – 0 defeat.  This after over 20 short corners defended by the team.

Overall the girls showed amazing sportsmanship and comradery, the school community can be very proud of their results as well as their attitude during play.

Junior hockey girls start season off well

On Saturday, 14 March, Union High School’s 1^st junior hockey team travelled to Lorraine Primary School in Port Elizabeth to participate in their annual sports festival.

The Union girls were fixtured to play against Priory, Sunridge, Westering, and Lorraine, with all the matches being played on grass.

The girls took some time to get going as expected in their first matches of the season. The more hockey they played, however, the better the girls got.

They pulled together nicely as the day went on and played some quality hockey in stages.

The final results saw the Union team draw 0 – 0 against Priory, Sunridge and Lorraine, beating Westering 1 – 0 through a goal scored by Lisakhanya Menos.