Eastern Cape host first Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Regional Final

Walmer High school will be competing in the under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, Eastern Cape provincial finals for the second year running.  The school beat Solomon Mahlangu High School 1 – 0 in the regional finals that took place at Walmer High on the weekend to move a step closer to winning a slice of the R3.4 million winnings on offer in the tournament.

Walmer has a few months to prepare for the provincials that will take place at the school on 15^th August.

Bulelani Sina, coach of Walmer High School, is delighted to have reached this level of the competition in his first full year with the school.  “The boys did it once again and this time around I was with the team from the beginning of the tournament,” he said. “The win this year is much more humbling because I was part of the coaching staff from the very start, we are so proud of the boys for this achievement and hope that they continue winning like this.”

Sina coaches Young Ideas FC, a local team based in Walmer, and was asked to come and coach the school team as most of the players also play for his club.

“I know these players very well as I have coached most of them from the tender age of 9 years old,” he said. “I am passionate about soccer, especially development. I have been involved in the game for as long I can remember and have helped a lot of local teams in the ABC Motsepe League.”

Hard work and dedication are what Sina identifies as key to a successful team.  “I tell the players that if they are not going to put in the work, then you might as well leave because I don’t tolerate laziness,” he said. “Players must understand the importance of hard work from an early age. If a player works hard then it makes my job as a coach easy.”

The coach does not believe that playing the district finals at home gave them any advantage. “I think that playing at home adds unneeded pressure to the team,” he said. “In most cases players end up wanting to impress their fellow students or parents that are watching which can cost the team. However this was not the case this time.  The team maintained their position and respected all the other teams,”

The opening game against Ndzondelelo was the most challenging admits Sina.  “Most of the players that play for Ndzondelelo play in the ABC Motsepe League, so they were much more experienced than us,” he said. “But we managed to beat them and it goes to show that having experience does not guarantee your team victory, this tournament is there for any school to win.”

Sina is confident that they can win the Eastern Cape title this year. “We are taking first position this year and coming back with the R100 000 for the school,” he said. “Unfortunately we didn’t do well at the nationals last year as the competition was very tough and it it’s going to be even tougher this year so our aim there is to end higher on the table.”

Results

Chubekile Senior Secondary School was disqualified as they did not have the correct documentation

Ncedo SSS 1 vs Solomon Mahlangu SSS 1

Ndzondelelo SSS 1 vs Walmer High 2

Woolhope 0 High vs Ncedo SSS 3

Walmer High 2 vs Liemkaya SSS 0

Solomon Mahlangu 4 SSS vs Woolhope SSS 0

Limekaya SSS 2 vs Ndzondelelo SSS 2

FINAL

Walmer High 1 vs Solomon Mahlangu 0