More than 130 Stanford Lake College learners travelled to Benoni on Friday to compete in a sports derby against St. Dunstan’s College. The annual event is always one of the most exciting events on the calendar, as the learners compete in a variety of sporting and co-curricular activities. Whilst St. Dunstan’s once again proved to be worthy opponents and took the win in a lot of sporting codes, SLC went home with heads held high, the highlights of the derby being as follows:
SLC’s senior debating team (Tshepang Mokwena, Megan Joynt and Poshie Nchabeleng) won their debate which was titled, ‘Should Taiwan be a sovereign state recognized by the international community?’ It was a tough topic to discuss but the team researched it well and came out on the top. The Junior team (Llewellyn Rogers, Emmana Mohlaba and Zoë Burman) debated on the topic ‘Should assisted suicide (euthanasia) be legalized?’ and lost by a narrow margin, despite some great counter-arguments and thorough research on their topic.
The 1st team soccer match was certainly a game of two halves with SLC dominating play and possession in the first 45 minutes. Just before half-time, SLC were up 3-0 but St. Dunstan’s managed to find the back of the net minutes before the whistle blew. The SLC boys went into the second half with confidence but began to wither under the pressure from St. Dunstan’s. Soon the score was 3-2 and the SLC team just couldn’t maintain their defense, letting another goal slip past them, the game ending three goals apiece. It was certainly a high-adrenaline game for players and spectators alike. The team did well for their first game of the season and certainly learned a lot for their subsequent matches.
Another adrenaline filled match was the U/16 rugby game. The Stanford pack communicated well on the field and they formed a synergy that St. Dunstan’s simply could not rival. By half-time, SLC were leading 28 points to 5 with tries scored by Warwick Melville, Gavin Knott (2) and Abe Athanassiades. The second half went just as well in SLC’s favour, with tries from Stefan Otto and Dylan van den Berg. Dylan’s try was undoubtedly the highlight of the game, gaining possession at the 70m line and running straight down the sideline. His pace unrivalled, he crossed the try line and placed the ball perfectly under the posts. All the tries were converted by Abe Athanassiades, whose kicking game was skillful throughout the match. The final score was 42 – 5. The SLC 1st team’s game couldn’t have gone more differently. Here it was St. Dunstan’s who dominated play and racked up the big score, with SLC losing 34 – 5. Sloppy play and lack of communication from the 1st team cost them the game, certainly giving them lots to work on during their practice sessions.
The hockey results were mixed for Stanford Lake College this year. Whilst the boys 2nd team and the U/15 girls teams were defeated, the girls 2nd team and 1st team met their matches and had to both settle for a draw. The win for SLC came from the U/14 girls, who secured their first victory of the season. Lead by their team captain Tanatswa Murasiranwa, who scored all three goals, the U/14 girls played a well-coordinated game and communicated well on the astro in order to secure the win.
Six netball teams competed in the derby and SLC knew it was going to be tough from the onset, with St. Dunstan’s having played some strong netball over the years. The girls did not stand back for St. Dunstan’s and fought back until the last whistle was blown. The U/14, U/15 and two U/16 teams lost, but did not give up fighting. The 2nd team girls have been working hard this season and pulled together a well-deserved win of 15-14, playing extremely good netball. The 1st team played well but couldn’t pull through in the end, losing 30 – 15.
Some photos courtesy of Lianke and Linda Fourie.
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