Cleary Park U13s emerge winners in show of skills
BLUSTERING winds which blew away gazebos failed to deter the U13 teams from the Safa-NMB and Safa-Sarah Baartman districts at the regional Build It U13 soccer tournament in Gelvandale on Saturday.
Shops from across the metro as well as Graaff-Reinet, Port Alfred, Jeffreys Bay and Kenton-on Sea were represented.
“I was amazed at the skill shown by the youngsters in winds that adults would have struggled in,” Safa-NMB president Monde Mhletywa said.
“There was definitely a vast improvement over last year, especially by the teams like Makana who were thrashed in the last tournament.”
In the finals, Build It Cleary Park (Nafa) beat Build It Motherwell (Mofa) 4-2 on penalties after the teams finished 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
Both teams were a cut above the rest, ending the round-robin stage unbeaten.
In the opening match, Cleary Park beat Hunters 7-0.
Motherwell beat Ndlambe One 8-0 in their second game.
In the semifinals, Motherwell beat Sundays River 2-0.
Cleary Park beat Graaff-Reinet 4-3 on penalties after the match ended goalless.
Playing their fourth match of the day, and given the conditions, the boys were obviously leg-weary in the finals.
Banda Mbatha, who was one of the top goalscorers in the tournament, gave Motherwell an early lead but Cleary Park were soon on level terms.
With scores tied, the teams went into the dreaded penalty shootout.
In addition to receiving a trophy, soccer kit and medals, Cleary Park represent the province at the provincial finals later this year.
Build It regional manager Angelo Swartz said he was impressed by the resilience shown by the boys.
Each Build It store hosts a tournament for the local community.
“It was heartwarming to see the boys play so well, especially under these atrocious conditions,” Swartz said.
“They showed tremendous skill.
“Through this tournament we touched the lives of not only these 12 teams but of more than 2 000 boys in the areas we service.”
Results:
Round robin: Stanford (Nebfa) 1 Sundays River 1, Hunters (Kuyga) 6 Makana 0, Nobuhle (Nodefa) 0 Stanford (Nebfa) 2, Cleary Park (Nafa) 7 Hunters (Kuyga) 0, Makana 0 Cleary Park (Nafa) 2, Ndlambe Two 0 Motherwell (Mofa) 4, Hunters (Kuyga) 1 Sunridge (Pefa) 4, Ndlambe One 2 Build it Ndlambe Two 0, Graaff-Reinet 1 Kouga 0, Build It Motherwell 8 Ndlambe One 0, Sunridge (Pefa) 0 Graaff-Reinet 2. Semifinals: Motherwell (Mofa) 2 Sundays River 0, Cleary Park (Nafa) 4 (0) Graaff-Reinet 3 (0). Final: Cleary Park (Nafa) 4 (1) Motherwell (Mofa) 2 (1).