All 12 KwaZulu-Natal regions
have started their road to the Danone Nations Cup
provincial soccer finals, with Siyathuthuka Primary School of Mtubatuba being
the first to qualify for the next round of the competition.
The UMkhanyakude regional
finals took place this past weekend with 16 schools participating. The
schools were divided into 4 groups and Siyathuthuka won, drew and lost a game
to finish second in their group behind Qomukuphila PS, which put them into the
quarterfinals.
They went on to beat Mgedula Primary 1 – 0 to reach the
semifinals where they overcame Mthwazi Primary 3 - 1 on penalties and finally
Ntuthuko 1 – 0 to win through to the provincial finals.
An excited coach, Ziduse Ncube, explained that this is a
major feat considering they only started playing in the tournament last year,
when they were knocked out during the district finals.
Ncube came to the school, which is based in Nkombose
Reserve, Mtubatuba, two years ago from Hlazane Primary School which has been
participating in the competition for a number of years.
He was keen to enter his new school in the Danone Nations
Cup because he believes it opens up a lot of opportunities for young players.
“We have a team made up of new players who have never taken
part in such a big tournament,” he said. “We don’t have the best training
facilities, but that won’t stop them from reaching for their dream to go
through the national finals.”
Ncube has no formal coaching qualifications and gets his
knowledge from attending local games and reading books on how to develop young
players.
“We know that reaching the provincials is a different ball
game and will require hard work so we will continue training sessions 4 times a
week once we return from the Easter school holidays. I have also
organised friendlies against the local club under-14 teams as warm up games,”
he said.
Keeping it simple is the plan, said Ncube. “The boys
are still busy mastering the basics so I will keep it simple in terms of
training; defending, attacking, ball possession and building stamina.”
Changing tactics now will not benefit the team, believes
Ncube. “I don’t want to confuse or tire the team before a big event like the
provincials. Looking at their performance from the cluster level to the
regional finals, there’s a huge difference and I’m impressed with their
willingness to learn and their discipline.
Ncube says there are no key players in the team. Good
results are achieved through teamwork he and wants his players to remember
that. “Every player has had a hand in winning the games we needed to in order
to qualify for the provincials.”
Danone Partners
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