Saints women take early lead

Saints took the early lead in the Indoor Hockey Women’s Premier League after thumping Wanderers 12-1 on Saturday. 

Saints’ men and Windhoek Old Boys Hockey Club, meanwhile, played out to a thrilling 5-5 draw to remain joint leaders in the Men’s Premier League after two rounds of action. 

In the Women’s Premier League, Saints already took a decisive lead last weekend when they beat fellow title contenders WOB 4-3 and on Saturday they shifted up a gear with a comprehensive win against Wanderers. 

They opened their account after two minutes when Alice Rowles slammed in a cross from the right wing and from then on it was one way traffic as they overwhelmed Wanderers with their fast-paced game. 

Rowles made it 2-0 with another field goal, while two short corner goals by Azaylee Philander put them 4-0 up within 10 minutes. 

Tamara Grogli added a field goal and a penalty, her younger sister Leila Grogli added a field goal, and when Philander completed her hattrick with a field goal, they had already taken an insurmountable 8-0 lead by half time.

Wanderers finally opened their account with a penalty by Charmaine Rix five minutes after the break, but Wanderers upped the tempo, with Leila Grogli adding a second and Tamara Grogli a third goal, while Philander added two more for a match haul of five goals. 

With numerous national players in their ranks like Philander, the Grogli sisters, Jerrica Cormack and Amber Dercksen, Saints will take a lot of stopping and have already laid down an early marker in the title race. 

The bonus point win put them at the top of the log on six points from two matches, but Old Boys remained on their tail with a 4-1 win against DTS. 

Nicola Fourie gave Old Boys an early lead with a short corner goal, while two field goals by Onique Bezuidenhout and Jahntwa Kruger put them 3-0 ahead by halftime. 

Kaela Schimming gave DTS a glimmer of hope with a short corner goal, but a second goal by Kruger put the issue beyond doubt. 

That win put Old Boys on three points, to remain within touching distance of Saints, while DTS and Wanderers make up the rear on zero points each. 

The Men’s Premier League, meanwhile, is already shaping up for an exciting title race with four teams within a point of each other at the top of the log. 

Old Boys lead Saints I on goal aggregate with both on four points, while School of Excellence and Saints II are both on three points. 

On Saturday, Saints seemed to be heading to victory as they held a two-goal lead with four minutes to go, but a great comeback by Old Boys saw them grabbing a share of the spoils. 

Brynn Cleak put Old Boys ahead with an early short corner goal, but Ludwig van Rooyen immediately equalised with a field goal, and Saints took the lead for the first time when Liam Bruys scored from the penalty spot. 

A field goal by Owen Hatton put Saints 3-1 ahead, but Cleak pulled a goal back for Old Boys just before the break to make the halftime score 3-2 for Saints. 

The match continued at a frantic pace with attacks and counter-attacks after the break, with Abraham Graham scoring for Saints and Matu Kavikairiua for Old Boys to give Saints a 4-3 lead with five minutes to go. 

Zach Philander seemed to have clinched when he put Saints 5-3 ahead with a field goal, but Old Boys made a great comeback and late goals by Percy Barthram and Ernest Jacobs gave them a share of the spoils as they played out to a thrilling 5-5 draw. 

The School of Excellence, meanwhile, remained on their tail with a comprehensive 8-3 victory against DTS. SoE only held a 2-0 lead at halftime after field goals by Christiano Festus and Delron Handura, and when David Britz opened DTS’ account with a field goal the match was still wide open. 

Festus and Handura, however, both added two more goals to put them 4-1 ahead, before SoE turned on the style with five more goals in the final quarter to complete a commanding victory. 

For SoE, Handura scored four goals in total, while Festus and Giovanni Handura scored two each. Britz scored a hattrick for DTS. 

Saints II joined SoE on three points after a 1-0 win against Wanderers, with Jonathan Marais scoring the winner with five minutes to go. 

Wanderers and DTS make up the rear of the log with one point each. 

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