THE FNB Classic Clashes tri-sport festival which annually pits Diamantveld High School (DHS) against Northern Cape High School (NHS) came to an end on Saturday in Kimberley after delivering what was spectacular competition on the field especially by the senior Under-19 squads for rugby and hockey.
This year’s FNB Classic Clashes school sports festival started off on Friday afternoon with competitive games between Diamantveld High’s age group hockey sides versus their perennial opponents in this competition Northern Cape High (NCH) at the astro turf in Cassandra, Kimberley.
In the Under-19 girl’s hockey match, NCH had the upper hand for most of the two halves of the game. Diamantveld, for most of the time, played on the backfoot as NCH restricted play to within their opponent’s half.
It is by no stroke of luck that in the last third of the first half NCH speared Diamantveld’s defences and were rewarded with a single goal. Northern Cape held onto the slender lead for the rest of the first half.
When the match resumed for the second stanza NCH general kept up the pressure on their opponents so much so that midway through the game NCH launched several daring raids at the DHS goalie. Thanks to a steady defence Diamantveld remarkably survived several such inspired raids on their goal in the second half.
This made for intense and exciting play on the field with the hundreds of spectators shrieking their heads off with excitement along the sidelines.
As expected, there were many excited parents to be seen all over the premises and along the perimeter chaperoning yet more youngsters who were there purely for the fun. There were also the usual braai stands on the premises where those with an entrepreneurial spirit sought to feed the hungry.
On Saturday it was the turn for rugby for the boys and netball for the girls at the DHS grounds. In the senior boys match Northern Cape High Under-19 side had the best of their match against DHS where they triumphed 10-6 over the tournament hosts.
At this venue the support for the game was palpable. Proud parents were visible all over the show encouraging the youngsters on the pitch. Of course, there was no lack of support from uniformed classmates who stomped around the periphery.
The festive atmosphere was also made the merrier by the on-court happenings where the girl sides of the two schools battled it out on the netball courts nearby.
The terrain around the Honoured Dead Memorial was at its usual hustle and bustle as potential spectators in their vehicles vied for space with the usual national and local traffic that passes through that point.
