A pulsating match between Ramblers’ U/19s against St. Paul’s College at the CBS Arena late Saturday afternoon lived up to the spectators’ satisfaction.
St. Paul’s College went toe-to-toe with Rammies, as they are affectionately known, resulting in a nerve-wracking 3-all draw, as both teams collected one point each.
Kieran Lewis from Ramblers scored two goals, while Salomon Kobi snatched one goal.
The St. Paul’s College goal-scorers were Ruata Kuamli, Ezekiel Hans and Sially Shikongo.
Ramblers’ coach Tiro Tlhabanello said it was a good game from both sides, as whenever they scored a goal, their opponents answered back by equalising.
“To me, it was a bit disappointing. My guys were not eager and hungry enough. St. Paul’s took the game to us. We were waiting, sitting back relaxed,” he said.
Tlhabanello feels that the gap between the matches has made his boys rusty, with the holidays disrupting their playing time on the field.
“A team loses momentum. There is another break coming – then we have to start all over again. It’s difficult to keep up with these guys. If the games were back-to-back, it would be a different scenario,” he added.
The coach identified areas to concentrate on before their next match, as they could have easily won the game by a bigger margin.
“Finishing is something I have to look at. My midfield was not involved in the attack that much. My wingers kept the ball too much. There was a lot of stuff that was not satisfactory.
“We just have to fix what went wrong here. We had a lot of opportunities that counted against us. Sometimes, we say lady luck was not on our side today,” he stated.
Matt Izaacks from St. Paul’s College felt that his charges played well against a well-established team.
His boys put in a good effort.
“Our fitness is at a good level, as we stretched the field and played a good passing game. But my boys got a little too excited when we scored goals – they lost their heads. It’s the job of the coach to keep them calm and focused. This is something I have to work on,” he said.