Win or lose, it was a football celebration at soccer tournament
THE BLOEMFONTEIN Celtic MultiChoice Diski team comfortably beat a Sol Plaatje XI outfit 4-0 at a jam-packed Galeshewe Stadium as part of the closing ceremony of the Easter weekend Diamonds and Dorings Festival.
The half-time score was 1-0 in favou r of the visitors. From the opening whistle it was evident that Celtic were the most comfortable on the pitch, pushing out perfectly-timed passes that ended well inside the Sol Plaatje goal area.
Unstinting support
The hosts, on the other hand, enjoyed the unstinting support of the unusually large stadium crowd; testimony to an untapped appetite for organised football in the Diamond City and surrounding areas.
It came as no shocker that Celtic found the net in less than a quarter-hour of play. Gomolemo Rampai floated a cross into the box where Thabo Zikade easily volleyed the shot into the net (1-0).
In the second half both teams introduced some fresh legs. Celtic were obviously trying to give a run to most of their bench, and Mokone Mereko got lucky in the 48th minute. He was fouled, won a penalty and stepped up to slot home the side’s second goal (2-0).
Later, Thabang Morai unleashed a blinder from just outside the centre area that found the Sol goalkeeper on the wrong foot in the 61st minute (3-0). Mokone Mereko came back for a second helping much later in the game and scored the side’s fourth goal to effectively put the contest beyond reach for the Sol Plaatje select side.
But such was the crowd spirit on the day that the locals, instead of being downcast at the hammering dished out,broke out in song on the main stand in celebration of the occasion.
In the pre-invitational final game between the in-form Safa SAB Frances Baard team
Pes Porto FC, who lead the pack on the regional log, and Ipopeng Real Madrid, Pescodia had to eventually resort to penalties to dispose of their opponents with a narrow 5-4 margin in the penalty shoot-out.
Meanwhile, in an earlier Local Football Association rubber KEW FC beat Bush
Bucks 5-2 on penalties.
Another game featuring Roodepan Masters saw the tournament favourites; Saints FC walk out 4-1 losers.
This was the fourth appearance at a final for Saints who yet again failed to impress their faithfulsupporters.