Zamukhanya
Primary School from Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, beat St Joseph’s Kulani 1 – 0 in a
nail-biting under-12 Danone Nations Cup provincial final match this weekend,
which has earned them a spot in the national finals taking place at the
Dobsonville Stadium, Soweto, on Saturday, 15th September.
“I am
overwhelmed as this was not expected’” said an excited coach, Sibonelo
Mfeka. “Our first Danone Nations Cup experience and we have reached the
national finals. I am humbled, and it proves that dreams come
true. It doesn’t matter from where one comes, whether from the dusty
streets in the rural areas or the more affluent urban area, anyone can win you
just need to have faith and determination.”
The
winning strategy, believes the coach, was mental preparation and being able to
identify talent and position that talent correctly. “The challenge is
that I have no coaching qualification. I played soccer at primary school
only and I coach the boys according to my personal knowledge of the game.
I teach them the basics. My talent is being able to pick good players and
I allow them to go out and just play the game and then I encourage them and
build their confidence. I tell them that the game is seven against seven
and to go out and just enjoy the game. This proved a good strategy as the
provincials were not easy. The teams were good and there were plenty of
spectators which was a bit daunting, but the boy’s confidence was so strong
that they didn’t let anything phase them.”
The
next step is the national finals at the Dobsonville Stadium. “I am not
going to make any changes to either the team or our training regime,” said
Mfeka. “However, I might include more practise sessions. I am not
going to promise we are going to win the nationals, but we will go well prepared
and use it as a learning experience.”
Nutrition
will also play a key role in preparations. “The players come from poor
families and we have a feeding scheme at the school, and so I am comfortable
that they will get enough nutrition to build them up for the nationals.”
Zamukhanya’s
first provincial final match against St David’s Marist was tough as their
opponents were strong and determined. Despite the game being played in St
David’s half most of time, they failed to capitalise, and the game ended with
no score giving each team a point.
Their
next game was against an experienced Sunnyside Primary from Pretoria, who have
competed in the numerous provincial finals. The newcomers were not phased by
experience and went on to beat them 2 – 0. They then beat Sicelo Primary
1 – 0 to top the log meeting St Joseph’s Kulani in the final match. It
was a tough game with both teams evenly matched. It could have gone
either way with both schools failing to score after numerous shots at
goal. Zamukhanya finally managed to put the ball in the net to win 1 – 0.
The
national finals will see the nine provincial winners compete for the title and
a chance to represent South Africa at the world finals scheduled for Barcelona,
Spain, in 2019. Entrance to the Dobsonville Stadium on 15th
September is free and, not only can the fans watch first class under-12 soccer,
but there will be fun for the whole family in the form of skill testing games,
target shooting, jumping castles, face painting and much more.
Provincial
final results:
- Thembalethu Primary 0 vs 0 St David’s Marist
- Phakamani Primary 0 vs 3 Sicelo Primary
- Bonamelo Primary 3 vs 0 Somelulwazi Primary
- Sunnyside Primary 0 vs 2 Zamukhanya Primary
- St Joseph’s Kulani 1 vs 0 Thembalethu Primary
- St David’s Marist 3 vs 0 Somelulwazi Primary
- Sicelo Primary 0 vs 1 Zamukhanya Primary
- Bonamelo Primary 0 vs 1 St Joseph’s Kulani
- Somelulwazi Primary 0 vs 3 Thembalethu Primary
- Zamukhanya Primary 3 vs 0 Phakamani Primary
- St David’s Marist 0 vs 2 Bonamelo Primary
- Sicelo Primary 3 vs 0 Sunnyside Primary
- Somelulwazi Primary 0 vs 3 St Joseph’s Kulani
- Thembalethu Primary 1 vs 3 Bonamelo Primary
- Phakamani Primary 0 vs 3 Sunnyside Primary
- St Joseph’s Kulani 1 vs 0 St David’s Marist
FINAL
Zamukhanya 1 vs 0 St
Joseph’s Kulani
