Rhodes soccer team clinches third place

The Rhodes University Soccer Club’s men’s team participated in the recent John Ike soccer tournament played at the army base.

The Rhodes side managed third place in tournament made up of seven teams after playing five matches in total – three matches having been played in the group stages. Rhodes were rewarded with bronze medals together with a soccer ball.

Eleven Attackers and New Seekers made the final, with Eleven Attackers the eventuall winners earning the gold medals, while New Seekers won silver.

Rhodes used the tour- nament as preparation for University Sports South Africa (USSA) and earned some good playing time, as they played a total of five matches in two days.

Their first match on Saturday 25 March was against City Pirates who took no prisoners and eased past Rhodes with a 2-0 victory.

Tiisetso Maifo the Rhodes captain said, “The tournament gave the team bonding space and a platform for growth in terms of participation in competitive football”.

The third match saw Rhodes come out guns blazing and claiming a 3-1 triumph against a stubborn Flying Stars.

It was a much improved and stellar performance from Rhodes compared to the first match. They rounded off their Saturday with a 2-2 stalemate against Eleven Attackers which helped them qualify for the semi-finals which were to be held the following Sunday.

The Sunday saw Rhodes battle New Seeker for a place in the final. A first half goal for New Seeker was the vital goal which took them all the way to the final.

Rhodes lost 1-0. A thirdplace tie was later played between the army team and Rhodes. Rhodes winning 2-1 to claim the third place.

It was a tough weekend which tested the fitness and mental readiness of the Rho- des players for USSA which will be played from 3 to 7 July.

Their head coach – Khayalethu Ngangqu – must have seen departments which the players lacked, for instance, poor finishing and indecisiveness in the box were the order of the day.

He will be looking to do away with those weaknesses in order to compete in the near future.

A number of Makana Local Football Association teams took part in the weekend tournament.

“This tournament I believe gave us a taste of achievement and from it, it will only get better,” further added Tiisetso after the tournament.