Western Cape under-12 school team will be heading for Spain to compete in the Danone Nations Cup world finals

Team work, taking advice, confidence and emotional intelligence is what helped the young under-12 team from Cape Town’s Nomlinganiselo Primary school win the Danone Nations Cup national finals in Gauteng this weekend, said coach Ntokozo Mazwi.  The youngsters will now take on other nations in the world finals in Spain in 2019.

The national finals took place in Gauteng on the weekend with Nomlinganiselo drawn in Group 2 with Shapeve (MP), Tshediso-Xolani (FS) and Laerskool Rustenburg Noord (NWP).  They finished top of the log after beating all three schools 1 – 0 to reach the final where they played Charles Morgan Primary School from the Eastern Cape, who topped Group 1.

The final match was tough, said a tired, but excited Mazwi.  “The game was evenly matched and both of us had our chances, but we failed to convert.  At the end of regulation time the game was deadlocked leaving it to penalties to decide who would be going to Spain.  I knew then that we had the game in the bag as I had a gut feeling that I needed to prepare my goalkeeper for this exact situation.”

In the end Nomlinganiselo won 4-3 on penalties.  “I am extremely proud of my boys,” said the coach.  “When one considers that our school has poor soccer facilities and we have limited equipment for training yet we still managed to beat schools that have much more than us.  It is testament to how determined and courageous the team was.  Charles Morgan has competed in two other national finals and went into the game as the more experienced school.”

The team will now start planning for Spain.  “I learnt so much in Gauteng.  Every team had their strengths in terms of tactics and technical skills that I will implement back home in Cape Town. However, I will keep to my primary focus, which is to prepare the boys emotionally for the experience.  I will teach them all about Barcelona, the countries we will be playing against, while continuing to build their confidence.  Preparations will consist of classroom activities as well as on field training and plenty of practise matches.  We are going to look for support from the local structures to find better training facilities to get the boys used to playing on excellent surfaces.”

The coach is planning on obtain his SAFA Level 1 coaching certificate in March 2019.  “I believe the Level 1 certificate focuses on coaching kids, which will help me prepare them better.  Currently I have no coaching experience and teach according to what I know, which might not necessarily be the best practise.’

Premier Soccer League scouts also attended the national finals to look for talented youngsters to boost their development structures.  “The Danone Nations Cup national finals were a dream come true for every player on the pitch,” said Mandla Mazibuko from Mamelodi Sundowns. “We have watched the teams perform at the provincial finals and it was important to have another look at them at the nationals to see how they perform under pressure.  The scouts are looking for individual players at these events, but it is interesting to see how the different teams play as a collective unit.  I was particularly impressed at the formations used in the final match.  At this age, while it is important to just let the boys have fun and play the game, it is also important to start teaching them different tactics and how to move the ball around the field effectively.  Coaching is extremely important at this age as the boys must start learning about build up and positioning as this is how you score goals.”

Manager of Charles Morgan, Lizo Wellie, was disappointed at losing in the final, but admitted he was not prepared for a penalty shoot-out.  “Losing on penalties was disappointing and I did not prepare the boys fore this, but that is the game of soccer.”

Playing against Benny’s Sports Academy from Limpopo was their toughest opponent admitted Wellie.  “Benny’s has an excellent reputation and my boys were a little intimidated when they went into the game.  Despite our opponent’s excellent tactics, we still managed to beat them 2 – 1 which was a massive confidence boost for the players.  We won three games and drew 0-0 against Lutzburg from the Northern Cape which put us as log leaders and into the final match. It is a pity we didn’t win but there is always next year.”

The national final experience was special for the youngsters, admitted Wellie. “Seeing Johannesburg for the first time was exciting for the boys.  They stayed in a hotel with all the other provinces and made plenty of friends.  At the stadium there were activations such as dribbling skills tests and target practise which the boys really enjoyed.  It was a dream come true for all of us and next year we will be back in action with a new team and new experiences. I am looking forward to it.”

RESULTS: 

POOL A                                                                                            POOL B

Benny’s Sports Academy and Development (LP)                        Shapeve Primary School (MP)

Zamukhanya Primary School (GP)                                                Nomlinganiselo Primary School (WC)

Charles Morgan Public Primary School (EC)                                Tshediso-Xolani Primary School (FSP)

Muzuvukile Primary School (KZN)                                                Laerskool Rustenburg Noord (NW)

Lutsburg Intermediate School (NC)

1. Benny’s SDA 3   vs  1  Zamukhanya PS
2. Shapeve PS  0  vs   1  Nomlinganiselo PS
3. Charles Morgan  2 0 PS  vs  Muzuvukile PS
4. Tshediso-Xolani PS  1 vs 0  Laerskool Rustenburg Noord
5. Lutzburg IS 0  vs  2 Benny’s SDA
6. Zam’ukhanya 1 PS  vs  1 Muzuvukile PS
7. Nomlinganiselo PS 1 vs 0  Laerskool Rustenburg Noord
8. Charles Morgan  PS  0 vs 0  Lutzburg IS
9. Muzuvukile PS 2 vs  1 Benny’s Sports DA
10.   Laerskool Rustenburg Noord  0 vs 4 Shapeve PS
11. Zamukhanya PS  1 vs 2 Charles Morgan PS
12. Nomlinganiselo PS 1 vs 0  Tshediso-Xolani PS
13. Muzuvukile PS 0 vs  0 Lutzburg IS
14. Benny’s Sports DA 1 vs 2 Charles Morgan PS
15. Shapeve PS  1 vs 0 Tshediso-Xolani PS
16. Lutzburg IS  0 vs  0 Zamukhanya PS
17. FINAL:  Charles Morgan PS 0 (3) vs 0 (4)  Nomlingaliselo PS 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Cape Town school is a step closer to winning a trip to Spain to compete in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup world finals

Cape Town’s Nomlinganiselo Primary School will join the other eight provincial champions in the under-12 Danone Nations Cup’s nation finals in Soweto on 15^th September  after winning the Western Cape title at JG Meiring Hoërskool in Goodwood last weekend.  The ultimate national winner will travel to Spain in 2019 to compete in the world finals.

Nomlinganiselo beat Phakamisani Primary School 2-0 in the final, after losing to them in the round robin stage of the competition earlier in the day.  Phakamisani had also lost once in the group stages, to St Helena Bay Primary, so the final was between the teams that topped the table and were the best two on display.

The final turned out to be completely different to the earlier round robin game. Nomlinganiselo learned from the first encounter and completely dominated. Phakamisani tried to catch them out on the counter attack but the Nominganiselo goal keeper had everything under control and never looked like he was going to concede a goal.

Phakamisani defended well but the pressure proved to be too great and they conceded two goals.

St Helena were in the running, but they drew twice and that took them out of contention. They had the best spirit of all the teams and will be back next year even stronger now that they know what to expect.

Nomlinganiselo coach, Mazwi Ntokozo, thinks that being the home team helped as some of the other teams had to travel long distances to get to the provincial finals.

“Phakamisane beat us in an earlier game and we thought about the game and decided that they had two very good players and if we stop those two players from getting the ball we will be able to beat them in the final”, he said.

That strategy worked, he said, because in the final Phakamisani's only game plan was to use those two players and they were unable to change it. “We have to improve for the national finals, though. All the other teams are provincial champions too, so they will be very good and used to winning.

“I have called on a couple of specialist coaches to help with the goalkeeper, the midfield and the strikers. I will also tell the boys that we are in the same position as everyone else. The other schools all have to travel, none of them have played each other so they don't know what to expect.”

Ntokozo said his boys are positive so they are easy to coach, and they learn quickly. “We are going to organise friendlies against the teams in our area. They are not strong, and we can beat them all, but the extra match practice will help the boys.”

The coach is confident that all the youngsters play good soccer. “I have given then names of famous players to watch on TV. I chose them based on the way they play and what position they play in so the boys can go home and watch the tactics they use and how they manage in these positions.”

Ntokoza is aware that the players are not used to travelling so far and that mental preparation is going to be important. “The other teams must watch out for us, because we are not afraid of them,” he said. “We are all equal on the field and we are coming to play good soccer.”

The results of the Western Cape provincial finals were:

Nomlinganiselo Primary School 2 vs John D Crawford Primary School 0

Phakamisani Primary School 2 vs Lukhanyo Primary School 1

Cloetesville Primary School 0 (2) vs St Helena Baai Primary School 0 (3)

Nomlinganiselo Primary School 0 vs Phakamisani Primary School 2

John D Crawford Primary School 0 vs Lukhanyo Primary School 1

Cloetesville Primary School 0 vs Nomlinganiselo Primary School 2

St Helena Baai Primary School 1 vs Phakamisani Primary School 0

John D Crawford Primary School 1 vs Cloetesville Primary School 0

Lukhanyo Primary School 0 vs Nomlinganiselo Primary School 1

St Helena Baai Primary School 0 (1) vs John D Crawford Primary School 0 (2)

Phakamisani Primary School 2 vs Cloetesville Primary School 0

St Helena Baai Primary School 1 vs Lukhanyo Primary School 0

John D Crawford Primary School 1 vs Phakamisani Primary School 3

Nomlinganiselo Primary School 2 vs St Helena Baai Primary School 1

Lukhanyo Primary School 1 vs Cloetesville Primary School  

Final - Nomlinganiselo Primary School 2 vs Phakamisani Primary School 0