With two games to go in the
cluster level playoffs in the Emalahleni 2 Cluster in Mpumalanga, Mehlwane
Secondary School are on track to end on top of their section and go through to
the next level of the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup competition.
Mdu Skosana, the team’s coach and
manager, explains that they have not had much success in tournament before,
always eliminated in the early phases, but this year they have won three and
drawn one of their games so far, which puts them at the top of the table, with
two games to go.
“It’s been a psychological thing
with the players, they have let themselves believe that if the previous team
didn’t make it further they also can’t,” he said. “But, at the moment we are
leading the log standings by 10 points and we are left with only 2 games to
finish our cluster games and proceed through to the sub regional games. Things
are looking good for us, but we don’t want to count our chickens before they
hatch. We just have to remain strong and continue our game plan for the
upcoming matches.”
Skosana said the players at the
school are passionate about soccer and they understand that playing soccer is
not always about winning, but they would still like to experience playing in
the provincial and national finals of the tournament and be exposed to schools
from other districts.
The cluster games have been
smooth sailing for them, he explained and they even drew with Zacheus Malaza
SS, who participated in the provincial finals last year. “We viewed them as our
biggest competition, but we realised that they are no more competitive or
stronger than our side,” he said.
Skosana said the main challenge
they face is not having a proper soccer field to train on. “The school does
have a pitch, but it’s not in a good condition, which makes it hard for us to
train as much as we would like to. We currently train at our local
stadium when it’s available,” he said.
The team has a number of very
talented players who Skosana regards as key players. “But I have to single out
the captain, Aubrey Mahlangu. He is a versatile player who can play any
position, but lately he has been the striker for the team and is currently our
leading goal-scorer. He is one of those players that need to be exposed to academies.
It is a pity that we are in the outskirts Emalahleni.”
The teams participating in the
cluster playoffs are:
Zacheus Malaza Secondary School,
Empucukweni Secondary School, Leonard Nthuntshe Secondary School, D.M
Matsaosele Secondary School, Mehlwane Secondary School, Mabdande
Secondary School and Phillip Ndimande Secondary School
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