The Kearsney College versus Westville Boys’ High matchup promised fireworks and it lived up to the expectations, even without goals, as the teams played out a thrilling 0-0 draw under lights on Friday night.
Unlike last week, there was no Botha’s Hill mist limiting the visibility as the neighbors went head-to-head. Kearsney and Westville are roughly 25km apart, a distance many consider to be down the road, and the schools’ proximity makes for a rivalry that has been in existence for as long as the institutions have competed against each other.
cam Mackay’s charges, after a stiff examination at the Hibbert Shieldcame into the tie attempt on handing Kearsney a defeat on their hallowed Mason Astro.
They seized the initiative and sought to impose themselves on the contest from the initial pass-back. However, Kearsney has always been a very tough out on their home turf.
Westville had a clear plan. Their outside backs pushed up quite high, which opened up spaces for attacking passes. Those worked until the final third, but the killer blow was missing, thanks, in part, to Kearsney’s energetic defensive work.
Westville just couldn’t find a finish against their rivals. And even when they won a penalty stroke, with six minutes of the first half remaining, the opportunity was sent rocketing into the crossbar and Kearsney survived the danger.
“I think we didn’t do enough to make good clearcut chances,” Cam Mackay said afterwards. “When we did have our chances, we just threw them away a little bit. We almost looked nervous in the final third. We didn’t test the ‘keeper enough.
“We had PCs and we were flicking them in the air. I think if we flicked low and hard, you get a score more often than not. I think we probably say that every week,” Mackay truly told Supersport Schools Plus after the match.
Kearsney took a while to settle down as they adjusted to the challenges set by Westville. Some tweaks at half-time made a noticeable difference. and the home side enjoyed a strong third chukka.
“At the start of the second half, we changed one or two positions, where people were standing to give the ball when we were going forward, and we enjoyed a couple of shots at their ‘keeper, and a couple of short corners. “I think defensively we weren’t as tight as we could be,” Kemp explained.
The fourth chukka resembled a role reversal of the first quarter. Spurred on by loud support from a sizeable home crowd, which slowly responded to a thrilling vibe, Kearsney finished strongly, stretching the visitors, who were made to scramble to keep Matt De Oliveira and company at bay.
However, true to the script from the first part of the game, the attacking side couldn’t find a way to pry open the defense.
“I think it was probably a good spectacle for a nil-nil draw. It was better quality of game than I’ve seen from our guys for a little while,” Mackay said.
Result
Kearsney 0-0 Westville
CS Chiwanza is a former poet and now a full-time storyteller of Southern African sports. He jokes that those who can’t do a thing well enough either teach or write. He knows the right way to hold a cricket bat and the right grip for the wobbleball, but he can’t do either well enough to be picked for a good team. So he writes. However, he mastered the best dart grip and spends hours stat-padding against his wife and kids.
