WP men's hockey champions

Cape Town - A superb display of goalkeeping by Western Province’s Jacques le Roux inspired the hosts to unseat reigning champions Southern Gauteng 1-0 in the final of the men’s Interprovincial Hockey Tournament at Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.

Matt Botha hit the winner in the 63rd minute after a flick-on by Lungi Tsolekile from Cuan Burton-Moore’s pass.

Southerns threw caution to the wind in substituting captain and outstanding goalkeeper Rassie Pieterse for an extra field player in the last four minutes but three chances to the Johannesburg side could not be converted.

Le Roux made good saves from Julian Hykes, Nick Gonsalves, Dean Symons, Gareth Heyns, Clinton Panther and Brandon Panther, but Pieterse was also immense in denying Craig Haley and Lloyd Norris-Jones on more than one occasion.

However, Province also came closest to scoring when a Norris-Jones shot hit the post, while Southerns vice-captain Dylan Coombes was superb in saving on the goalline from a penalty corner drag-flick by Province captain Andrew Cronje.

It was an unforgettable day for Western Province as they came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Northern Blues 4-3 in the unfinished semi-final early Saturday morning.

FINAL PLACINGS:

A Section

(11th/12th): Free State 7 KZN Mynahs 5

(9/10) WP Peninsula 4 North West 3

(7/8) KZN Inland 3 Eastern Province 2

(5/6) South Africa U21 12 Witwatersrand 1

(3/4) KZN Raiders 2 Northern Blues 0

(Final) Western Province 1 Southern Gauteng 0

B Section:

(5th) Namibia

(3/4) EP Settlers 2 SA Country Districts 2 (Settlers won penalty shootout 4-2)

(1/2) Western Province Disas 2 Border 1