First timers win the Northern Cape Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial

The under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Northern Cape Provincial Finals took place last weekend and it was Groblershoop High School who emerged victorious after beating Weslaan High School 2 – 1 in the final match. Both teams will be representing their province at the Nationals in Soweto from 7^th – 10^th October.

This is the first time that Groblershoop will be going to the nationals in the 10 years that they have been playing in the competition and the team’s manager, Leon Cloete, puts it down to the school’s changing into a soccer school from a rugby-playing one.

“Rugby was the main sport played,” he said, “but more and more boys are choosing soccer now so we have changed the focus. We still play rugby, which is not a bad thing because our players are very fit, and our backs are all big strong boys who also play rugby,”

The team has worked very hard for this achievement, Cloete said. “We have challenges when it comes to scheduling training as some players live very far from the school and transport is a problem. Sometimes I have to drop the players off at home after training. But we are all dedicated to the cause and did everything we could to ensure that this year we would qualify for the nationals.”

The win was made even more special when a representative from the Department of Basic Education as well as the sports coordinator from their district came to the school to congratulate the boys and wish them well for the national finals.

As provincial winners, Groblershoop has been granted R100 000 by the sponsors, the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, to spend on legacy projects at the school and, although the School Governing Body will have to sit down to discuss how it is going to be used, Cloete would like to buy portable soccer goals for the rugby field that they train on.

Hard work and being focused is what Cloete believes let the team to success. “The team was focused from the beginning.  We were in the same group as Okiep, who are experienced in this competition.  We played them twice, drawing the first game and managing to beat them 2-0 in the second game, which gave the team confidence.”

Then it was Weslaan in the final and, thanks to goals from strikers Ruwey Bosmon and Brandon Scheepers, they managed to win 2-1. “It was a team effort though, every player worked very hard,” Cloete said. “Both teams deserved to be in the final. I am happy that we will be taking two strong teams to the nationals and hopefully one of us at least makes it into the semi finals.”

Now it’s down to hard training. “The nationals will be a new experience for us so my focus will be on keeping the boys fit as we will be playing up to three games a day, building confidence and fine tuning skills.”

Results

Remmogo 1 vs Weslaan 1

Groblershoop 1 vs Okiep 1

Weslaan 3 vs Tetlanyo 1

Okiep 0 vs Groblershoop 2

Tetlanyo 2 vs Remmogo 2

Final - Groblershoop 2 vs Weslaan 1