2008-06-26Staff Report 2 By Staff Reporter WINDHOEK Whilst goal scoring has been a serious headache in Namibian football, a Windhoek-based 15-year-old boy from the Delta Secondary School in Olympia is banging them in like they are going out of fashion. From the moment young Yoran Martin started chasing leather at the age of eight, he has showed exceptional talent belying his tender age and stood head and shoulders above his peers in all the age groups where he's competed. Yoran used to be the star player of Emma Hoogenhout Primary School's Under-9s and Under-11s before he graduated to the Delta Secondary School where he was immediately drafted straight into the school's Under-13 side. His prowess on the football field did not go unnoticed and he found himself turning out for the Under-15 team the following year under the tutorship of Wolfgang Balzar. Young Yoran repaid the faith put in him when he rattled the net five times from the same number of matches in the recently concluded Otjiwarongo Schools' Soccer Tournament at the Paresis Sports Ground, earlier this month. Despite having been converted from striker into a playmaker position - Yoran was instrumental in Delta's victory in the eight team Under-15 section of the two-day tournament. The boys from Delta brushed aside their opponents en route to the final - starting with a 5-Nil thrashing of Saint Georges with Yoran netting four goals and went on to beat Swakopmund Football Club's A-team and Sport Klub (SKW) by identical scores of 1-Nil in the league phase of the competition to book themselves a semifinal berth against Ramblers. The teams played to a goalless stalemate and the tie had to be decided by the dreaded penalty shootout. The boys from Olympia held their nerves and came out tops (5-4) with Yoran neatly placing his spot-kick with the precision of a seasoned butcher. Delta found themselves trailing by two goals and two men down in the final against SKW and needed the timely intervention of Yoran to change the situation and the talented midfielder dully obliged, by narrowing the score line with an individual goal before setting up the equalizer for Gareth Hoff. The match ended in a 2-all draw and had to be decided by a penalty shootout that saw Delta emerging victorious by 10 goals to 9 with Yoran amongst the successful penalty takers. SKW won the Under-17 round robin section but the team's victory was marred by post-match accusations of cheating with some teams fingering the Germans of having made use of over-aged players, who were ineligible for selection in this particular section. The said players are reportedly doing duty in the Khomas Under-17 League while also turning out in the Schools Under-19 Super League. 2008-06-26Staff Report 2
