There was some top soccer action as the second round of the Grahamstown High Schools Soccer League kicked off at JD Dlepu last week.
There was some top soccer action as the second round of the Grahamstown High Schools Soccer League kicked off at JD Dlepu last week.
On the A Field, TEM Mrwetyana hosted Khutliso Daniels in what many thought would be an easy victory for Mrwetyana.
Indeed Mrwetyana made their intentions clear within the first fifteen minutes when they scored one of their easiest goals ever, after their defender blasted the ball against a striker and the ball deflected towards the goals.
Unfortunately the goalkeeper’s mind must have been elsewhere as he watched the ball slowly crossing the goal line.
However, Khutliso fought back strongly and were awarded a penalty after the goalkeeper was adjudged to have tripped a striker inside the box. The score line was 1–1 at halftime.
The second half started with Khutliso asking more questions but TEM’s goalkeeper pulled some good saves to keep the score level.
Mrwetyana gained the lead in the 45th minute after the goalkeeper failed to deal with a high cross from the left and only watched in despair as the ball went over his head into an empty net.
But this did not dampen Khutliso’s spirits as they kept pushing forward in search of an equaliser, and indeed theydid get one in the dying minutes of the match after some good inter-passes from the midfield moving forward into the box.
A low cross from the right caught Mrwetyana’s defence square and a striker had an easy tap past the diving goalkeeper.
The final score was 2–2. On B Field the ever growing rivalry continued between Nombulelo and Mary Waters.
This was a fairly balanced match throughout and Nombulelo got to lead on two occasions but every time they scored they seemed to lose concentration and allow Mawas back into the game.
The final score was 2-2 and Lelethu Makile of Nombulelo continued to lead the goal scorers’ chart with nine goals, followed by Siyabonga Lwisani of Mary Waters with four goals.
In the second set of matches, Nombulelo failed to get an expected win against Ntsika who seem to have lost their form this season.
Their match ended in 1–1 and on the field next door Khutliso Daniels finally brought their nemesis, Mary Waters, down to earth when they beat them 1–0.
With the high schools programme having recently received funding from the Lotto, the future is looking bright for the league and all participating teams are due to receive new sets of Adidas kits, match balls, and other equipment that will help them improve on their game.
