Mother Nature stepped in at the weekend, leaving the KC March Easter hockey tournament in limbo.
Just after 3pm it was decided it would not be possible to stage the two main finals in the premier division and the tournament was officially ended with no champion at this year’s event.
“In the end it was a safety issue for the players – the field is just too waterlogged to play on,” said tournament director Mark Taljaard. “Parts of the pitch have also lifted slightly due to air bubbles caused by the amount of rain we have had, so there is a possibility of it tearing up if we try to play on it.”
The premier division men’s final was set to be played between local side United Hockey Club, whose semifinal was called off earlier in the day with them leading, and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), who were put through without playing their semi by virtue of having finished higher on the log than their opponents Lakeside.
The women’s final would have been an all-East London affair after defending KC March women’s champs Parkside and Bohemians both managed to win their semis in the morning, setting up a mouthwatering local derby, only for the weather to take centre stage.
“It’s a sad way to end the tournament after so many teams came down and so much top-class hockey was played so far,” said Border Hockey president Neil Klaasen. “Our local teams had been doing very well too.”
After the group phase ended on Saturday night, a full day of finals was all set for Sunday, but that took an immediate hit in the morning when news filtered through that the Buffalo Flats astro was flooded and unplayable, meaning the silver division semifinals had to be moved to Kat Leisure Park.
Despite the rain, play was still possible at first and the women’s premier division semifinals were played, with a rain delay in the mix. Parkside were first up against Uitenhage and a hattrick from SA hockey star Tiffany Jones saw them to a comfortable 4-0 win.
Jones put Parkside ahead in the seventh minute and Luche Klaasen doubled their lead from a penalty corner in the 20th. Jones then added two more goals in the third and 20th minutes of the second half to seal the win.
Bohs then came up against Gelvan from PE in their semi, with Gelvan taking a 1-0 lead into the half-time break thanks to a field goal from Liesel Dorothy in the eighth minute.
Bohs then left it late, with Wendy du Preez drawing the scores level with just over a minute of normal time remaining, forcing a penalty shootout to decide the match, which Bohs took 3-2 thanks to successful strikes from Lorinda Thomas, Tristan de Lange and Chene Karshagen while Gelvan’s Toni Marks and Lauren Nini managed for them.
A second rain stoppage saw the first men’s semifinal – between defending champs Beaulieu from Johannesburg and United – delayed for an hour, but it started at a blistering pace.
Beaulieu tore up the field and saw their first shot cannon back off the post as they signalled their intent early, but United were also in a feisty mood and took the lead from their first penalty corner in the third minute as Romano Ramoo swept home.
Both teams were going hammer and tongs and then, from a Beaulieu penalty corner in the 15th minute, United defended and with devastating accuracy from Geowynne Gamiet put the finishing touches to a great counter and went 2-0 up. Another downpour then stopped play a few minutes before the end of the half, and it was agreed that United at 2-0 would make the final should play be possible, but it was not to be.
Heavens open up and puts paid to final showdowns
Just after 3pm it was decided it would not be possible to stage the two main finals in the premier division and the tournament was officially ended with no champion at this year’s event.
“In the end it was a safety issue for the players – the field is just too waterlogged to play on,” said tournament director Mark Taljaard. “Parts of the pitch have also lifted slightly due to air bubbles caused by the amount of rain we have had, so there is a possibility of it tearing up if we try to play on it.”
The premier division men’s final was set to be played between local side United Hockey Club, whose semifinal was called off earlier in the day with them leading, and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), who were put through without playing their semi by virtue of having finished higher on the log than their opponents Lakeside.
The women’s final would have been an all-East London affair after defending KC March women’s champs Parkside and Bohemians both managed to win their semis in the morning, setting up a mouthwatering local derby, only for the weather to take centre stage.
“It’s a sad way to end the tournament after so many teams came down and so much top-class hockey was played so far,” said Border Hockey president Neil Klaasen. “Our local teams had been doing very well too.”
After the group phase ended on Saturday night, a full day of finals was all set for Sunday, but that took an immediate hit in the morning when news filtered through that the Buffalo Flats astro was flooded and unplayable, meaning the silver division semifinals had to be moved to Kat Leisure Park.
Despite the rain, play was still possible at first and the women’s premier division semifinals were played, with a rain delay in the mix. Parkside were first up against Uitenhage and a hattrick from SA hockey star Tiffany Jones saw them to a comfortable 4-0 win.
Jones put Parkside ahead in the seventh minute and Luche Klaasen doubled their lead from a penalty corner in the 20th. Jones then added two more goals in the third and 20th minutes of the second half to seal the win.
Bohs then came up against Gelvan from PE in their semi, with Gelvan taking a 1-0 lead into the half-time break thanks to a field goal from Liesel Dorothy in the eighth minute.
Bohs then left it late, with Wendy du Preez drawing the scores level with just over a minute of normal time remaining, forcing a penalty shootout to decide the match, which Bohs took 3-2 thanks to successful strikes from Lorinda Thomas, Tristan de Lange and Chene Karshagen while Gelvan’s Toni Marks and Lauren Nini managed for them.
A second rain stoppage saw the first men’s semifinal – between defending champs Beaulieu from Johannesburg and United – delayed for an hour, but it started at a blistering pace.
Beaulieu tore up the field and saw their first shot cannon back off the post as they signalled their intent early, but United were also in a feisty mood and took the lead from their first penalty corner in the third minute as Romano Ramoo swept home.
Both teams were going hammer and tongs and then, from a Beaulieu penalty corner in the 15th minute, United defended and with devastating accuracy from Geowynne Gamiet put the finishing touches to a great counter and went 2-0 up. Another downpour then stopped play a few minutes before the end of the half, and it was agreed that United at 2-0 would make the final should play be possible, but it was not to be.
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