Sheshego’s Rev MP Malatjie Primary School won the Limpopo
Danone Nations Cup provincial finals and will be heading for Johannesburg to
play in the national finals on the 28th June. If they win
there they will represent South Africa at the World Finals in Brazil later in
the year.
They earned that right after beating Chuchekani Primary on
penalties in the final of the provincial playoffs at the Seshego Stadium in
Polokwane.
Their coach, Phillip Nkwe, was overjoyed at their success.
“For years we have been striving for the opportunity to represent our province
at the national finals and this is our year,” he said.
They advanced to the final despite losing their opening game
in the playoffs, to Mashamba Combined School by 1 - 0, and Nkwe puts that down
to nervousness. “I could see that the team was not playing like they normally
do, so after the game we had a team talk and I told them to overcome their
fears and to play with confidence, after all the other players were all feeling
the same way.” he said. “We then went on to beat Kgwatlhele 3-0 in our next
game and it was like watching a completely different team. They just needed
that motivation to keep them going.”
Nkwe acknowledges that the pressure is now on them. “Perhaps
being our first experience at the national finals might put us under more
pressure than those teams that have been there before, but every year we all
have different teams, so the playing field is level now and we have just as
much chance of winning as all the other schools,” he said.
He said the school has enlisted the help of local team
owners and coaches in their preparations. “I know that the standard of football
will be higher at the national finals and I want to make sure we are ready for
it.”
The team won four games in the provincial finals, three of
them on penalties, which shows they are able to operate under pressure, Nkwe
said. “The level of football was high and competitive. Every school played
their best as everyone wanted to win and get a chance to play for the trip to
Brazil to play in the World Finals.
Nkwe’s strategy now is to focus on scoring goals and finding
ways of controlling the boys’ nerves when they are playing in a different
environment. The thought of going to Brazil, the football capital of the world,
is very exciting for the boys and Nkwe believes they are up to the challenge
and will do everything possible to make sure that they win the nationals and go
to Brazil.
When asked what the boys wanted to see in Brazil it was the
stadiums that caught their interest; “And meet the team they will be competing
against in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals as, after all, Brazil has been
the most successful country in terms of FIFA World Cup tournaments and it all
starts from a young age and the boys are hoping to learn a trick or two from
them,” Nkwe said.
Limpopo Provincial Finals Results
Chuchekani 5 vs Bonwankwe 0
Mashamba 1 vs Rev MP Malatjie 0
Kgwatlhele 0 vs Chuchekani 3
Bonwankwe 0 vs Mashamba 1
Rev MP Malatjie 3 vs Kgwatlhele 0
Chuchekani 2 vs Mashamba 1
Bonwankwe 0 vs Rev MP Malatjie 0 (Rev MP Malatjie won on
penalties)
Mashamba 3 vs Kgwatlhele 0
Rev MP Malatjie 0 vs Chuchekani 0 (Rev MP Malatjie won on
penalties)
Kgwatlhele 0 vs Bonwankwe 3
Final - Chuchekani 0 vs Rev MP Malatjie 0 (Rev MP Malatjie
won on penalties)
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