Heavy rains last week meant the Under 15s Easter Tournament could not be completed after only a handful of matches took place on Saturday.
Heavy rains last week meant the Under 15s Easter Tournament could not be completed after only a handful of matches took place on Saturday.
The tournament, originally scheduled to end on Sunday, took place on Monday at JD Dlepu stadium, where the rest of the round robin matches will take place and later on the knockout stages.
SAFA junior coordinator in Makana, Akhona Heshu confirmed that the conditions meant no other games could have taken place last weekend. Although there was talk of staging the rest of the fixtures midweek, Heshu said they decided to use this weekend to finalise the tournament. Ten Makana Junior teams are contesting the tournament.
The five matches that took place last week saw some almost unbelievable scores, with Sakhulutsha running riot and embarrassing the Italy youngsters with a 15-0 demolition.
City Pirates also got in on the act. Although not quite as humiliating as Sakhulutsha, they dismantled Jacaranda 7-0 and also gave Future Stars a 5-0 hiding.
With that they have set the pace and are well on their way to the semis. Sophia Young Stars were also in the mood for a high-scoring match as they put four over Linge Stars without conceding.
For Jacaranda, who also lost 3-0 to Future Stars, their journey in the competition has come to an end after losing twice in a three-team group.
The tournament is not hosted by any organisation, but by a group of friends who decided to do their bit by giving back to the community.
Organiser Lunga Kalashe said the idea came last December, when the friends realised there wasn't much for kids to do in Grahamstown during the holidays. “We are just a group of friends who are spread all over the country because of work.
So when we came back for the holidays we saw there was not much to do. "We just decided to host a soccer tournament and include the young boys,” said Kalashe.
Although it was out of their control, he said they were disappointed that the weather had the final say on the day of the tournament. However, he promised a spectacle when the games resume this Saturday.
