Young bucks ready to unleash their power at championships

TEAM Eastern Cape will kick- start their SA Breweries League U21 national championship campaign at the Nike Centre in Johannesburg today.

The provincial team has been hard at work getting ready to compete this national spectacle where the most talented young stars will be showcasing their skills in front of scouting agents from different teams in the country.

The team played two friendly matches last week in preparation for their campaign. The team beat Farefield 1-0 and drew 1-1 against Mthatha Bucks.

U21 coach Ongeziwe Seku said their preparations are thus far going according to plan.

“Our aim was to get here first and be the last team to leave with the Cup. Back home we did all we could to prepare the boys and the people who watched us play against Mthatha Bucks were very hopeful because of what they saw in the team.”

He said being the first team to arrive at the accommodation gave them the advantage of placing their players where they wanted to so they can monitor them closely.

“We have allocated the players in rooms where we can keep a close eye on them.

“We choose rooms with bathtubs so that our players can get a thorough regeneration of muscles straight after games,” said Seku.

The coach,who is with the U21 squad for the second season, said they are still on par with most of their plans.

“Even now my players are well rested and during the day we will go to the registration, unlike other teams that will pitch during the day and they have to juggle with everything,” he added.

He said previous squads from the province were careless and did not care about this tournament.

“We sat down with the team and explained to them what this tournament means and what they could achieve if they take it seriously and behave professionally.

“We have five players from last season and we promised them if they behave professionally we will keep them for the next season because they have the relevant experience,” said Seku.

The final match will be televised on SABC1 this Saturday at 3.45pm.