Strauss Lunyangwe
Kaizen Football Academy (KFA) managed to salvage a 2-2 draw against Riverheigths FA during their MTC HopSol Youth League U/19 clash on Saturday at the Trustco United field.
KFA were caught napping in the first half when Riverheights took the lead through Liyamba Augustinus, who cleverly tucked the ball into the back of the net in the 29th minute.
A determined KFA side kept applying pressure in search of the equaliser but their 12 shots on target were kept out by Riverheights’ goalkeeper. Riverheights’ second goal came just after halftime, courtesy of Johannes Amunyela.
But it was not yet game over for KFA, who kept coming forward with a flurry of attacks and their efforts finally paid off when they got their first goal through Jonathan Morris. KFA used the slippery pitch well to their advantage and soon managed to level matters via a perfectly-executed goal from the industrious Kyle Solomon.
With the score at 2-all, both sides created lots of goalscoring opportunities but that much-needed winning goal remained elusive for both sides. KFA coach Llewellyn Bock expressed disappointment with his side’s first touches and how they failed to fully utilise their goal-scoring chances.
“Our finishing was not up to standard today because I know we could have done much better to convert those chances. We had very good one-on-one chances in the first and second half but unfortunately, we could not convert them,” he said.
“What happened in the second half was that we started playing too many long balls and got behind the back line quite often. The finishing was not on par as we expected it to be.”
His Riverheights’ counterpart Richard Tjari was pleased with the one point they got from the match, saying bagging a point against a formidable side like KFA is progress in the right direction and something they can build on.
“When we came here, we knew we were going to play against an experienced team and they have been together for a while now. Some of my boys are still inexperienced playing in this age group. I think we did well because you could see KFA was coming into the game in the second half and the boys could not take the pressure from them, but I’m happy with the end result,” he said.
Another thrilling encounter over the weekend was in the U/17 group between CBS and Ramblers B side at the Jan Möhr field, which saw CBS walking away as 3-1 winners.
Ramblers’ gaffer Hafeni Ndeitunga said playing against CBS was tough and his youngsters struggled to match their pace.
“We played very good football today; we just did not have the spirit to show for it. Tiredness and lack of concentration led to us making mistakes and our passes were not as sharp as we wanted. That’s our fault because CBS played fantastic football,” said Ndeitunga.
CBS mentor Dino Pieterse said it was tactically a better game for them as they had to put in a lot of effort.
“The boys responded well and the overall performance was also great. My boys always seem to start their matches slowly, which is dangerous at times. I feel we should always start the game on a high note so that we don’t concede in the first minutes of the match.”
St. Joseph’s High School [Döbra] also managed to collect maximum points on Saturday by beating Ramblers 2-1 in another U/17 clash, which saw them moving to the summit of the log table with six points.
Coach Figi Haufiku of St. Joseph’s High School said their opponents were tough but his charges were up to the challenge as they prepared well for them.
“I can say my boys really tried their level best today and did exactly what I instructed them to do. I’m very happy with how they performed today. We have a few problems with our defence, especially at the left back but we will get somebody suitable to play there; then our team will be perfect,” said Haufiku.
– slunyangwe@nepc.com.na