Deutscher Turn und Sportverein (DTS) U/17 crashed out of the quarterfinals of the 2023 HopSol Junior Football League tournament via a penalty shootout loss to Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) after the two teams played out a goalless draw at Jan Möhr football field recently.
The tough match saw SKW win 4-1, setting up a date in the semi-finals against Ramblers A.
SKW coach Lucky Kakuva felt it was one of the best matches he had seen in the U/17 league in a long time, making it a thrilling encounter.
“Congratulations to my boys. It was a tough match on the balance of play; it was 50-50. Technically, tactically, emotionally and conditioning-wise, both teams were up to the task,” he said.
Kakuva felt his team had a slight edge, especially towards the end of the match, as they created better chances, with one of those crashing against the upright.
“Our substitutes almost won the game for us in the added time at the end of the second half – but that is football; penalties are a lottery, but I’m happy. The knockout stages of such tournaments call for a different approach and urgency because if you make a mistake, you are out. I think this time around, our guys were mentally up to the task. We set ourselves to win the match; going forward, it can only get better. We aim to continue until the end and hopefully win the U/17 category,” he said.
He expressed his pleasure at being able to fight for a spot in the final, a development he said shows that his players have come of age.
DTS coach Mabasa Kufahakutizwi said it was a good match, as both sides were determined and fought until the end.
“Just some finer details of the game in crucial moments, and I still feel our match officials can do better. Because when it’s a throw-in and it gets given to the opponent, it’s a corner kick, and the same thing happens. Those finer, smaller things matter,” he explained.
Kufahakutizwi said SKW, in the end, deserved to progress to the semi-finals.
He lamented the exam season for most of the players, saying it becomes difficult to field their best team or have proper training sessions.
“The year is almost over. I think 80% of the boys will still be under 17 next year, so we need to fight again. For the HopSol campaign, it was a beautiful season, as we finished at the top of the group. We are out, but that is football,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, the following day, SKW played yet another stalemate before losing 3-0 on penalties against Ramblers A.
SKW will now play for the third and fourth spot against ACFA A team Jan Möhr football field at 16h40 tomorrow.
Elsewhere in the same age group, the ACFA B team managed to reach the semi-finals when they overcame a tough Dokkies Schmidt Football Academy (DSFA) 2-0.
The win saw them through to meet up with a resilient Riverheights Football Academy the following day.
ACFA B team coach Benedictus Haoseb felt they were the better team on the field, but they just took the chances to progress to the next round of play.
“We took our chances when we got them, but kudos to DSFA,” he felt.
Haoseb felt that the pressure was not too much on them; they are considered the underdog in their group, as they are the B team. “All eyes are not on us, as everybody thinks it’s the ‘B’ team and they can just run circles around us, but we surprised them and we are through to the semi-finals,” he said.
Robinson Kavemunu, coach of DSFA, felt that it was a good game, as ACFA B put in a good shift throughout the match.
“It was a disappointing result but also a learning curve for the boys. I wouldn’t say much about it; some games you win, and
some you lose. Congratulations to the boys,” he said.
DSFA had moments in the game in which the coach felt they should have put the game to rest, but the players did not play according to his expectations.
“It’s fine; we will prepare for our other games, since we are out of contention now. I think we conceded two silly goals, and we started very slowly, which also affected our game because we were waiting for them to come to us. The two goals we conceded are hard to come back from. Next time, we will do better; we need to start on a high note,” he concluded.
On Sunday, ACFA lost to Riverheights via a 1-0 scoreline. They will fight for third and fourth place against the Ramblers A team tomorrow at the same venue at 15:30.