East High School wins R100 000 at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Mpumalanga Provincial Finals

East High School won the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Mpumalanga provincial final for the second year in a row at the Thulamahashe Stadium in Bushbuckridge last Saturday. The win means the Enhlanzeni school will be representing their province, together with Eric Nxumalo Secondary School, who finished in second place, at the national finals from 24 to 28 September at Durban’s King Zwelithini Stadium.

Team coach Sibusiso Chiloene is not that surprised that his team has made it two in a row. “>From the start of the season our aim was to win this tournament and therefore more money for the school, and if you are so focused you can achieve your goals.  We were mentally and physically prepared,” he said.

As provincial champions, the school wins R100 000 to be used to fund projects identified by the winning school.  “I can’t say on what the school will spend the winnings, but I hope it is to continue to update the classrooms.  We started with our winnings last year and it has made such a difference to the morale of the learners.”

The 2013 East High team had four new players in their ranks, and they rose to the occasion brilliantly. “I thought that they were going to have challenges because they were new to this

tournament but they did me proud,” Chiloene said.

Siyabonga Sibiya, who moved from KZN to East High last year, was one of the key new players on Saturday.  “Some of my friends moved to the school and I decided to do the same due to the enormous opportunities the school offers.”

Siyabonga’s inspiration is his father, who played for Golden Arrows. “He pushed me to start playing and I have grown to love the game.  When I was 12 years old I even got to attend an academy in Brazil.  I hope to follow in my father’s footsteps and play for a PSL club.”

The coach has identified one area that needs to be worked on prior to the national finals.  “The team needs to improve on capitalising on opportunities to score more goals,” He said “We had numerous chances to score, but our boys didn’t achieve due to lack of communication.”

Provincial Finals Results

Qualifiers

Qhubulwazi 2 vs Eric Nxumalo 5

East High 3 vs Kopanang 2

Third/Fourth playoff

Qhubulwazi 2 vs Kopanang 1

Final

East High 2(4) vs Eric Nxumalo 2(2)