The MTC HopSol Youth League matches took place over the weekend, with almost all age categories taking to the field. A total of 41 games were played at the Jan Mohr Football Field, Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), and Trustco United Football Field.
The early match on Saturday was between Katutura outfit Swallows U/19, who reigned supreme for their first win of the season against Prolific Soccer Club, beating them 3-1. The match was a delight for parents and players as the school exams are underway.
From the onset, Prolific seemed to be the better team in the first half as Mbajoroka Kavan scored in the opening 15 minutes. But things changed in the second half as Swallows started coming to the party and managed to score, as Stein Jacobus, Masule Munyeme and Given Gariseb handed them the valuable three points in their age group. Coach Jacobus Stein from Swallows said the match was difficult, especially when he had to use an infield player to replace the goalkeeper who could not make it on the day. “I am struggling; neither of the guys playing at centre half pitched up this morning. I think that’s the only position that I’m lacking. Obviously, the goalkeeper, the player who was in goal, is an infield player that I put in the goalpost.” Coach Stein was happy with their first win of the season but felt his boys were still not up to par in terms of match fitness. “It’s always difficult.
It’s always at the start of the season. First game, the boys are struggling with match fitness, but I strongly believe the team will come up, and in the next match, we will be better,” he concluded. Tanga Shitaura, coach of Prolific SC, said the game changed for them when his player got a red card in the second half of the match. “I think after we got the red card, or before we got the red card, the players wanted to equalise because it was still 2-1. They wanted to push more, but you know, sometimes things don’t go your way. They tried, and then I think the frustration became a lot, and after we conceded the third goal, everything just dropped; the morale dropped. So, I think it’s just the morale that let us down today.”
“I think my squad is very competitive. I think if we can come back a bit stronger, we can compete for the league. This season or this year, I think we are going to win the league,” he added.
Elsewhere
The Collin Bejamin’s Soccer Talents (CBS) U/19 recorded their second win for the season as they beat Julinho Athletic Football Club 3-0 at the Trustco United Football Field. The boys put up an impressive performance, especially in the second half, as goals from Stephen Kamulu, Christano Van Wyk and Gideon Uirab registered their names on the score sheet.
Both teams had a balanced first half, which had them both displaying a tactical approach, as they did not have enough scoring opportunities, as the ball was mostly played in the midfield. In the second half, JAFC goalkeeper Milco Souvinga received a red card, which opened the doors for CBS. Coach Henrico Botes from CBS said it was a good game and gave his opponents credit for their performance. “It was good intensity and good speed from both teams coming out to play, which is a type of football I especially like. So, it was good to watch, especially in the first half, very tight and tactical.
A lot of football components that I saw from both teams. So that’s a good omen for youth development. I think the longer the game went on, the physical conditioning of our players was a little bit better.”
“In my opinion, we just needed that one goal, and I knew it would swing into our favour, which is what happened. All in all, the score line of 3-0 is not a true reflection of the game. I think AC was very good today. It was unfortunate that they got a red card, but that’s football. We were knocking on the door to get more, but I’m happy with the performance, happy with the result today,” he said.
“At the moment, we are struggling a little bit. These are under-19 boys, which means they are in grade 11, grade 12, or doing AS perhaps. So obviously, the exams play a big part. Training time gets minimised. I’m happy that we managed to get two out of two. Obviously, that’s not the end; we’re going to go back. There are still some things that we need to fix personally for CBS, which is in and out of possession. But there are things that we can work on now during the holiday,” he concluded.
Losing coach Gerson Mbakondja started off by appreciating the referees, as they did a good job for them. “I thought it was one of the games where you say the referees were on top of their game, despite a few challenges that they had. Kudos to the referees; they pitched up. Back to my team, you know, some of these things happen. We played well in the first half. It was top of the game. We contained them, and I don’t know what transpired in the second half. Perhaps the fatigue kicked in, and then there were a few mistakes from my boys.”
“The beauty of this type of game is that both teams want to play football. There’s no one playing long ball, so we told the boys we have nothing to lose. They also have nothing to lose. For the beauty of a game, we go pound for pound, and we take the guys on. The target was three points, and the boys fought for it.”