Border U13s have successful tourney
THE Border U13 soccer team concluded a relatively successful Bill Stewart Interprovincial Tournament in Limpopo as they drew their final two games yesterday.
First they took on Tshwane in the early morning match and drew 1-1 before finishing the tournament against Pretoria with a 2-all draw.
This saw them end the tournament in fifth place overall, a marked improvement from last year.
“From coming second last last year to fifth this year was a good jump that I am happy with,” said U13 Border coach Deeran Govind.
“It was a gruelling tournament and it showed in the last few games, but the way we stood up to the bigger teams makes me think we could have done better.
“But I am very proud of the guys and believe they have bright high school soccer careers ahead of them.”
The team enjoyed some top results during the sixd tournament which saw Border claim five wins, four draws and three defeats in their 12 matches.
Border player Inga Mabovula was rewarded for his solid form throughout by being named in the 15-man tournament squad at yesterday’s prize giving.
“We had a number of players who could have made the team who were looked over, however Inga fully deserved his selection as he was always 100% committed and gave everything on the field,” said Govind.
Some of Border’s best results over the tournament saw them beat Northern Gauteng 2-0, triumph 3-0 over Limpopo A and score thumping victories of 6-0 over East Rand and 7-0 over Limpopo B.
This all added up to a great experience for the young players and gives Border a good mark to aim for next year.
Another boost for Border junior soccer saw East London awarded the hosting rights to the 2017 tournament.
At the tournament’s annual general meeting on Sunday night the Bill Stewart Interprovincial Tournament executive committee accepted East London’s bid.
The East London Primary Schools’ Football Association will thus be gearing up to get preparations for it under way once the team returns home today.
“We are very excited to have been given the honour of hosting the tournament in East London,” said Govind.
“It is the first time in a long while that East London has had a junior tournament of this magnitude and it will be fantastic for the city.
“It is going to take a lot of hard work and preparation and we hope local businesses and sponsors will get on board and help us host a great tournament.”