North West prevailed 1-0 in the penalty shoot-out against Western Province in the women's final at the SA Hockey U21 IPT in Gqeberha on Friday night.
Two championship matches, two shoot-outs, and one extraordinary comeback.
The 2026 South African Hockey U21 Inter Provincial Tournament ended in spectacular fashion in Gqeberha on Friday night, with North West claiming the women’s title and Western Province retaining the men’s crown after both finals went to shoot-outs.
North West edged Western Province 1–0 in the women’s shoot-out after the teams had finished 1–1 in regulation time, avenging their pool-stage defeat against Province. Tanya Pieterse had opened the scoring for Province before Germarrie Spershott grabbed a late equaliser for North West. They ultimately held their nerve in the shoot-out, with just one successful conversion deciding a tense finale.
Western Province had reached the final after surviving a shoot-out against Northerns Blues in Thursday’s semi-final, when the Blues fought back from two goals down, but this time it was North West who had the final say.
