On Tuesday, city rivals Oranje had beaten Eunice 2-1 in the City League final – a fitting prelude to the Super 12. It was always going to be a thrilling clash, given that it would be the fourth time this season the two teams faced off on the astros.

However, on Thursday, Eunice had the last laugh, coming from behind to beat Oranje 2-1 in Pool A of the tournament. This result handed Eunice a 2-1 lead in their 2025 head-to-head battle, after the two sides also played to a thrilling 1-1 draw earlier in the year during the City League round-robin stage.

Maria Kambanis had a big game in defence during Eunice's win against Oranje. Photo: Morgan Piek

That said, day one was anything but easy for either of the Bloemfontein sides, who found themselves drawn into the tournament’s so-called “Pool of Death”.

Eunice’s day started with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Hoërskool Waterkloof. They then collected maximum points with their win over Oranje, before closing the day with a 2-0 defeat to St Mary’s Kloof – a match in which they still created their fair share of scoring opportunities. This game also marked a staggering 200th appearance for Georgia Kambanis in the green-and-gold. With a draw, a win, and a loss, Eunice is third on the log, but will be looking for strong performances on Friday against Bloemhof and top-ranked Rhenish.

Oranje, meanwhile, will be less happy with their opening day. They suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Bloemhof in their first match, followed by the 2-1 defeat to Eunice, and ended the day with a 0-0 draw against Waterkloof. On day two, Oranje will also be eager to bounce back in their fixtures against Rhenish and St Mary’s Kloof.

Maria Kambanis. Photo: Morgan Piek

Rhenish dominated Pool A on day one with three wins from three, beating St Mary’s Kloof 2-0 in the opening game of the tournament, overcoming Waterkloof 2-0, and edging their Stellenbosch rivals Bloemhof 1-0.

In Pool B, DSG topped the table after the first day with a 3-0 win over St Anne’s and a 5-2 victory against Our Lady of Fatima, while also playing to a 1-1 draw against Menlo Park. Paarl Gimnasium, in turn, thumped Our Lady of Fatima 4-0, played to a 2-2 draw against Collegiate, and will face St Anne’s on Friday morning.

Day 1 Results:

Round 1:
 Rhenish 2 – St Mary’s Kloof 0
 Eunice 0 – Waterkloof 0
 Oranje 0 – Bloemhof 1
 DSG 3 – St Anne’s 0
 Paarl Gym 4 – Our Lady of Fatima 0
 Collegiate 1 – Menlo Park 0

Round 2:
 Rhenish 2 – Waterkloof 0
 Bloemhof 2 – St Mary’s Kloof 0
 Eunice 2 – Oranje 1
 DSG 5 – Our Lady of Fatima 2
 Menlo Park 0 – St Anne’s 1
 Paarl Gym 2 – Collegiate 2

Round 3:
 Rhenish 1 – Bloemhof 0
 Oranje 0 – Waterkloof 0
 Eunice 0 – St Mary’s Kloof 2
 DSG 1 – Menlo Park 1

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg