{"id":5303,"date":"2026-02-27T20:04:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T18:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/?p=5303"},"modified":"2026-02-28T20:05:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T18:05:30","slug":"semi-final-drama-sets-up-blockbuster-a-section-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/semi-final-drama-sets-up-blockbuster-a-section-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"Semi-Final Drama Sets Up Blockbuster A Section Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 South African Indoor Hockey IPT, powered by SPAR & Tops at SPAR, moved firmly into knockout territory on Friday as the A Section semi-finals delivered intensity, composure under pressure and defining moments that have now set up two blockbuster finals.<\/span><\/p>\n

WOMEN\u2019S A SEMI-FINALS<\/span><\/p>\n

Western Province 3\u20132 Southern Gauteng <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province secured their place in the final with a composed 3\u20132 victory over Southern Gauteng, built on ruthless penalty corner efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

WP struck twice in quick succession early on. <\/span>Malikah<\/span> Hamza converted from a penalty corner in the 6th minute before Andrea Leader doubled the advantage just a minute later, again from a set piece.<\/span><\/p>\n

Southern Gauteng responded in the third quarter when Amber <\/span>Fairon<\/span> calmly slotted a penalty stroke in the 25th minute to reduce the deficit to 2\u20131.<\/span><\/p>\n

Western Province answered through Chelsey Woolf, whose 31st-minute penalty corner restored the two-goal cushion at 3\u20131.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fairon<\/span> was not done, converting a penalty corner in the 39th minute to bring Southern Gauteng within one. A tense final passage followed, but WP managed the closing stages superbly to secure the win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three penalty corner goals ultimately proved decisive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Northerns<\/span><\/strong> Blues 5\u20131 WP Peninsula<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Northerns<\/span> Blues produced a commanding performance to book their place in the final with a 5\u20131 victory over WP Peninsula.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cailie<\/span> den Bakker opened the scoring in the 5th minute from open play before Elizabeth Porter doubled the advantage from a penalty corner in the 13th minute.<\/span><\/p>\n

Den Bakker added her second field goal in the 19th minute, and Laiken Brisset extended the lead to 4\u20130 in the 24th.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emily Macquet converted a penalty stroke in the 25th minute to make it 5\u20130 and effectively seal the contest.<\/span><\/p>\n

WP Peninsula pulled one back late through Sarah-Ellen Groenewald in the 38th minute, but <\/span>Northerns<\/span> Blues were in full control throughout.<\/span><\/p>\n

Relentless attacking pressure and circle efficiency underlined their title credentials.<\/span><\/p>\n

MEN\u2019S A SEMI-FINALS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province 4\u20133 WP Peninsula <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province survived a late surge to defeat WP Peninsula 4\u20133 in a gripping semi-final.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brett Horn struck twice in quick succession in the 16th and 19th minutes to give WP a 2\u20130 lead. Idrees Abdulla extended the margin to 3\u20130 in the 23rd minute before Hans Neethling made it 4\u20130 just three minutes later.<\/span><\/p>\n

WP Peninsula fought back strongly. <\/span>Luthando<\/span> Jonas converted a penalty stroke in the 29th minute, Ray Bonnet pulled another back in the 34th, and Jody Erasmus added a third in the 38th minute to set up a tense finish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the late pressure, Western Province held firm to secure their place in the final.<\/span><\/p>\n

Southern Gauteng 10\u20135 KZN Raiders<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Southern Gauteng delivered an attacking masterclass in a high-scoring 10\u20135 victory over KZN Raiders.<\/span><\/p>\n

John-Paul <\/span>Britz<\/span> opened from a penalty corner in the 8th minute, but Raiders responded through Randal Govender and Daniel den Bakker to take a 2\u20131 lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Britz<\/span> levelled again from a penalty corner before Liam Hermanus gave Southern Gauteng the lead. <\/span>Britz<\/span> added another from a penalty corner to make it 4\u20132 before Ryan Mann struck twice in quick succession to stretch the lead to 6\u20132.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hermanus added two more goals in the 28th minute to take the tally to 8\u20132. Keegan <\/span>Hezlett<\/span> pulled one back for Raiders, but <\/span>Dalpiarro<\/span> Langford converted a penalty corner to make it 9\u20133.<\/span><\/p>\n

Daniel den Bakker scored again for Raiders, Michael Horan responded for Southern Gauteng, and <\/span>Hezlett<\/span> added a late fifth for Raiders to complete a frenetic encounter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Southern Gauteng\u2019s depth and attacking firepower proved decisive in one of the tournament\u2019s most explosive matches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finals Confirmed<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Final: Western Province vs Northern Blues<\/span><\/p>\n

Men\u2019s Final: Western Province vs Southern Gauteng<\/span><\/p>\n

Two heavyweight clashes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four teams in form.<\/span><\/p>\n

Champions to be decided.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2026 South African Indoor Hockey IPT, powered by SPAR & Tops at SPAR, moved firmly into knockout territory on Friday as the A Section Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5305,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5303\/revisions\/5305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runridedive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}