Keith Fairweather Hockey Festival – First team reports and full results

1st XI Boys Report

The 1st XI boys hockey side had a tough start to their Pietermaritzburg tour, the opening game saw them go down 4-0 against Noordheuwel Hoërskool in the last 10 minutes. A few players missing from the first day made it difficult to keep the intensity for the full game. The boys second game saw them face Menlopark, a game filled with lots of chances, but Menlopark’s defence were up to the challenge making it difficult for Stanford’s forwards in the circle. The game ended with each team sharing the spoils 1-1. Day 2 would see Stanford’s reinforcements playing, which allowed the boys to play their natural running game. They triumphed with a 2-0 win over Waterkloof, but ended the day on a disappointing note with a 3-1 loss to Affies after dominating play. The final day saw the Stanford boys play Redhill who proved to be one of the toughest opponents. Each player had to dig deep and played some really good hockey, resulting in the boys winning 2-0. Well done to all the players who represented Stanford Lake College with pride.

1st XI Girls Report

The 1st XI girls had a slow start to the festival and picked up their strongest opposition on day 1 against Noordheuwel. They were unfortunately out-played and suffered a heavy defeat. The team had an inexperienced back four and they learnt from the mistakes they made during the game and came back strongly as a unit during the festival. The girls then had a good win in the afternoon against Voortrekker Hoërskool winning 6–0. On day 2, they had two tough fixtures against Montana and Zwartkop and managed two draws. The girls fought hard during these games. They played their best hockey on the last day winning comfortably against Howick, where they played well structured hockey and the opposition had no answers to Stanford’s free flowing play. Well done on a great festival girls.