Oranje and Eunice to face-off once again, while Rhenish will test Paarl Gimnasium in other semi-final

The hosts of the annual Fairtree Super 12-tournament, Hoër Meisieskool Oranje of Bloemfontein, will have to dig deep today if they want to keep their crown as champions and probably their position on top of the national rankings.

Oranje will face their arch-rivals, Eunice of Bloemfontein, in the semi-final of the tournament at 10:40 on Saturday. Oranje defeated Eunice by 3-1 in last year’s final to be crowned champions.

Catch all the action from the tournament live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Eunice defeated Oranje earlier in the week during the final of the Southern Free State League by 4-3 in a shootout. It was the first time since 2011 that Eunice managed to defeat Oranje Southern Free State final.

Eunice also defeated Oranje (1-0) earlier this year in the semi-final of the St Mary’s Festival in Johannesburg. A victory in the semi-final could mean than Eunice dethrone Oranje at South Africa’s top girls hockey team.

Important to note is that Oranje’s captain and star player, Germarie Spershott, got injured in the Southern Free State final earlier in the week, which without a doubt had a major impact on their Super 12 campaign.

Oranje suffered two defeats during the second day of the tournament against St Mary’s Waverley (0-1) and Paarl Gimnasium (1-2) but still managed to reach the semi-finals. Eunice and Paarl Gimnasium is the only two undefeated sides left in the City of Roses.

Oranje booked their place in the semi-finals thanks to a better goal difference than St Mary’s Waverley. Both teams finished on seven log points.

Paarl Gimnasium will face Rhenish of Stellenbosch in the other semi-final. Rhenish’s only defeat thus far came against Eunice and will without a doubt test Paarl Gimnasium in their play-off match.

Paarl Gimnasium’s Arisha van Niekerk scored a brace of goals in their final pool match against Oranje to help het side bag a 2-1 victory.

Scorers: 

Pearson 1 (Jorja Andrews 25′); Garsfontein 0.

Eunice 3 (Bianca Rees-Gibbs 9′, Khanya Mtimkulu 25′, Zandri Wiid 34′); Bloemhof 0.

St Mary’s Waverley 1 (Isabelle Barrow 40′); Oranje 0.

Paarl Gimnasium 4 (Anke Botes 3′, Marli van Lierop 8′, Tanya Pieterse 12′, Anine le Roux 29′); Collegiate 0.

Menlopark 0, Herschel Girls’ High 0.

Rhenish 3 (Halle Williams 16′ Justine Basson 38′, Raquel Pestana 40′); Garsfontein 1 (Arista van Zyl 8′).

Eunice 2 (Anebel Venter 13′, Trusten Barnard 20′); Durban Girls’ College 1 (Emily Macquet 31′).

HMS Bloemhof 1 (Janke Viljoen 10′); Pearson 1 (Isabelle Hofmeyr 38′).

Menlopark 1 (Ashley Moreira); St Mary’s Waverley 0.

Collegiate 2 (Gemma Bower 18′, Elizabeth Porter 40′); Herschel Girls’ High 1 (Sofia Dearnaley 14′).

HMS Bloemhof 1 (Nina Stanich 35′); Garsfontein 0.

Durban Girls’ College 1 (Ruby Kraus 6′); Pearson 0.

Paarl Gimnasium 2 (Arisha van Niekerk 15′, 28′); Oranje 1 (Nadine Claassens 30′).

Eunice 1 (Megan Pelser 16′); Rhenish 0.