Exciting action in Knockout finals
PE Football Association junior season ends on lively note at Westbourne Oval
THE Port Elizabeth Football Association junior season drew to a close on Sunday with exciting action in the Knockout Cup finals at the Westbourne Oval. The U6 final was an all-Callies affair as Barons took on Knights in a close game that Knights eventually won 3-2.
Alex Klate, son of Bafana and PSL player Daine, scored a brace for the Knights, while Zayed Serfontein scored their third goal.
Ave Nongogo and Connor Barnes netted for the Barons.
Knights also won the U6 league division, giving them the double for the season.
In the U8B section final, Ovayo Jack and Lubabalo Mpalala scored for Debonairs Pizza St George’s Bravehearts to beat Callies Saltires 2-0, while in the A section Hearts Gladiators beat Priory Chiefs in a game that could have gone either way.
Anga Madake scored for Gladiators who were unbeaten in 23 games this season.
Both Bravehearts and Gladiators also won their respective league divisions.
In the U10B section Hearts Eagles beat Priory City 1-0, with the goal coming from the boot of Dinga Ndubela. Ryan Swarbrick produced another outstanding performance for the Eagles.
Callies Highlanders claimed the trophy in the U10A section in a much-anticipated clash between Highlanders and Hearts Lads.
Morgan Mould opened the score for Highlanders in the first half, but Lads responded quickly with a well-worked equaliser by Oliver Martin.
Extra time was on the cards until Miles Feltham found the back of the net late in the game to give Callies the win.
Both Highlanders and Eagles also won their respective league divisions.
St George’s faced off against Motherwell Academy in the U14 final.
With the score level at 1-1, it looked like anyone’s game, but St George’s turned on the gas in the second half to win 4-1.
Aphiwe Mazondwa, Akha Maseti and Zukhanyo Maku (2) scored for St George’s, who also won the U14 league.
Hearts met their nemesis, NMU, in the U16 final after having lost to them 7-6 in a sudden death penalty shootout in the Mayoral Cup.
The game went into extra time after neither team had scored at the end of normal time.
Phumelela Mase eventually scored the only goal of the game in the second half of extra time to hand NMU victory.
This gave NMU the triple for the season, winning the league, Knockout Cup and the Mayoral Cup.
In the last game of the day, St George’s came up against Chippa United U18.
St George’s squandered a few opportunities in the first half which proved to be their downfall as Songenathi Nobebe scored a long-range cracker from outside the box midway through the second half to give Chippa a 1-0 lead.
They held this advantage until the final whistle.