Athletic Club Football Academy (ACFA) and Riverheights played out an exciting two-all draw in the HopSol U/19 League match at the Trustco United football grounds on Saturday.
ACFA were favourites to win the match but found the going tough as Riverheights matched them pound for pound, with both teams missing a host of chances in the first half through irrational decision-making.
The two teams improved in the second half, and more opportunities presented themselves, with the exciting Sakala Mulelembe of Riverheights scoring twice for Riverheights and John Kamalunga and Opomanga Kavela scoring for ACFA to salvage a well-deserved draw.
The result leaves ACFA in third place, having dominated the current season.
Riverheights coach Richard Tjari felt that the draw was well deserved, considering playing a powerhouse team like ACFA, as they are always the team to beat.
“Every time when you play ACFA, it’s a big game, and I like to play against them because they make us play good football. I can say it’s not a good result, but a draw is good enough for me,” he said.
He said he deployed fresh players in the second half, and those players went on to trouble his opponents, who seemed to be getting tired, and that decision paid off as his side became too pacey for ACFA, who seemed to be tiring as the second half progressed.
“I’m just happy that we managed to get through the game with a draw. But we have another game, which gives me confidence that we will perform much better and collect maximum points against Swallows,” he said.
Meanwhile, ACFA coach Ricky Averia said that playing against Riverheights is never easy as they keep improving every season, which makes it tough to beat them.
“They are a top team with strong players, and I always respect the way they improve every year. Luckily for us, we were able to equalise in the end to salvage a draw against them. I think our fitness level let us down today in the second half; that’s when we put in some fresh legs, which helped us. But I think both teams could have won this game in the end easily because chances started opening up,” he explained.
Averia noted that every game for them is a learning curve, especially leading up to the playoffs, which they have to plot and plan carefully in order to clinch the title.
“I think my boys have to get a little bit more confidence in themselves and on the ball. They should be able to trust themselves, their ability, and the way we train, which will make football more easy for them,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Mamie Kasaona’s Kasaona Football Academy handed Henrico Botes’ CBS charges their heaviest defeat (4-1) since the former Brave Warriors captain took over as coach.
The clinical Kasaona Football Academy were first on the trigger just five minutes after kick-off when they scored their first goal.
Coach Mamie Kasaona said that her boys were much more prepared for the game, which showed on the field because of the end result.
“My boys were mentally and physically prepared today for the match, and I think the early goal also helped us more. That’s what I required from them—not to let CBS play,” she said.
Kasaona said she has been studying CBS gameplay over the weeks and pinpointing their weaknesses, which made their preparedness efforts easier.
Losing side coach Henrico Botes said his players attitude was not good, and they had a couple of players missing from the starting line-up.
“It’s not an excuse, as there is always an opportunity for someone to come in and stake their claim, but yes, we got beaten badly today, so we will have to go back and regroup,” he said.