The final Match of the first day in the 2018 Varsity Hockey tournament was pure entertainment as hosts Wits proved to be too good for UCT, who they beat 6-2.
The first half was evenly poised, with both sides starting off in a very cautious manner in the opening minutes. The end of the first quarter ended up seeing the sides having to go into the short interval deadlocked at 0-0. It took quite a while for the teams to break the deadlock, but it was eventually broken, when Wits’ Bryce Cressy picked a pass from close range to give his side 2-0. And then shortly after that Chad Futcher made it 3-0 at the stroke of halftime.
The second half saw the host get on the scoreboard quickly, with Brandon James fighting his way past a few UCT defenders to score a brilliant field goal and gift Wits a comfortable 5-0 lead just 2 minutes into the half.
Wits then continued to surge forward in numbers, looking to add to their lead with the crowd spurring them on but UCT stood strong. Wits had to settle for the 5-0 lead at the end of the third quarter. The last quarter was the most interesting of the game, with both sides looking to leave it all on the turf.
UCT, however, eventually got themselves on the scoreboard, when Matthew Mc Kechnie scored a superb field goal, managing to unleash a vicious back-stick shot to send the ball from the left hand side into the top corner. Sadly that was the last time the men from the Cape impacted the scoresheet, with Wits having the last say in the match thanks to a powerful drag flick from Michael Marki, who made it 6-2 to Wits.
Scores
Wits: 6
Goals: Bryce Cressy, Chad Futcher, Brandon James
UCT: 2
Goals: Matthew Mc Kechnie
FNB Player of the Match: Michael Marki (Wits)
Mugg & Bean Star Player: Anton Van Loggerenberg (UCT)
Samsung Super Striker: Chad Futcher (Wits)
Teams
Wits: 1. Duncan Fischer, 2. Gareth Riley, 4. Cody Van Wyk, 5. Brad Riley, 6. Brandon James, 7. Michael Marki (C), 8. Jaryd Thomas, 10. Thabang Modise, 11. Chris Makaba, 12. Chad Futcher, 13. Bryce Cressy
Subs: 14. Sean Donaldson, 15. Michael Horan, 17. Rusten Abrahams, 18. Kamal Ramburuth-Hurt, 19. Kingsley Botes, 20. John Henning, 23. Sizwe Nyandeni
UCT: 5. Bjorn Sorensen, 4. Ross Talmage, 6. Malachy Barbour, 2. James Watters, 12. Dan Cole, 19. Nick Mc Kechnie, 10. Jack Forrest, 8. Walter Pfaff, 14. Michael Gildenhuys, 15. Jaydee Rossouw, 7. Matthew Mc Kechnie
Subs: 3. Tim Alfeld, 13. Mawu Zukisa, 23. Daiyaan Solomons, 31. Tino Elijah, 28. Ross Maharage, 1. Anton Van Loggerenberg, 26. Liam Peter
By Sifiso Nyawo
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