Pietermaritzburg’s Sukuma
Comprehensive School will be going to the national finals of the Kay Motsepe
Schools Cup tournament for the first time next month, and they are adamant that
they are not going there just to make up the numbers.
Their coach, Xolani Mpungose,
said they will be playing their preferred style of moving the ball around,
getting the combinations going, and they won’t let themselves be intimidated.
Sukuma earned the right to go to
the nationals by beating Ingabade Secondary School on penalties in the final of
the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup KwaZulu-Natal provincial final that took place at
the Northhdale Stadium in Pietermaritzburg last weekend. The sides were
locked on 2-2 at the end of normal time.
“We won the provincial title not
knowing much about our opponents so we didn’t let nerves get the better of us,”
Mpungose said. “The nationals will be more difficult – we know there are
academy teams there, with professional coaches, but we will not let that affect
us.”
Sukuma has been participating in
the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup for years with limited success so winning this year
has turned the players into heroes at the school. “The school teachers
and pupils have been amazing. We even held a special assembly for the
team just to show them appreciation and to acknowledge their hard work.”
The only school the coach had any
knowledge on prior to the provincials was Umqhele, who won the provincial
finals back in 2011. “We were drawn in the same group as Umqhele but
managed to beat them 1-0 in our second game, which settled us down and the team
began to play the type of football that we have taught them. We always
emphasise how important it is for players to work as a team and not play for
individual glory,” Mpungose said.
The coach singled out two players
who performed very well on the day. “Our goalkeeper, Lindokuhle Lamula, outdid
himself on Saturday, I hope that he plays the same at national level, and our
captain Mandla Dlamini, was great at centre back and he inspired the team.”
As provincial champions the
school won R100 000 to spend on projects at the school and, although the
SGB still needs to be consulted, Mpungose feels the funds should be used to
purchase computers to offer the students computer science, which is currently
not on offer at the school. “We will run this past the players as
well. Most of them are in grade 12 and will be leaving the school, so we
should ask them what kind of legacy they want to leave behind,” he said.
Now, it’s full steam ahead in
preparation for the national finals in Gauteng in two week’s time.
“People should expect the same
type of football that we showcased at the provincials, team work is very
important to us,” Mpungose said. “Hopefully the players will not suffer from
stage fright. We will be playing a lot of practise matches over the next
few weeks. We don’t have much time to prepare the team but we will try our
level best to make sure that they are good and ready.”
All the schools will be there to
win, Mpungose said and they will be working hard to make sure that they achieve
that goal. “I want to congratulate the team for their provincial win.
They made me proud to be their coach. The national finals are a learning curve
for us, win or lose they will gain something from the experience.”
Results
Sebenzakusakha 0 vs Wembezi 0
Guzana 0 vs Empangeni 1
Umthwazi 0 vs Zwelethu 4
Sukuma 2 vs Reitvlei 0
Ingabade 4 vs Sebenzakusakha 0
Sihle 0 vs Guzana 2
Umthwazi 0 vs Dingukwazi 1
Sukuma 1 vs Umqhele 0
Ingabade 1 vs Wembezi 1
Empangeni 1 vs Sihle 1
Zwelethu 3 vs Dingukwazi 3
Umqhele 0 vs Reitvlei 2
Semi-Finals
Ingabade 5 vs Zwelethu 0
Sukuma 5 vs Empangeni 0
Final
Sukuma 2 (8) vs Ingabade 2 (7)
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