Boys’ Soccer for 2009
As soon as school commenced in January, the soccer boys were eager to start training for the new season. In spite of his responsibilities as a cricket coach, Mr Leander was out on the soccer field with the first team hopefuls long before the season started.
We fielded six teams this year, all of whom played in our local Zone A leagues. The Under 14 team, coached by Mr. John Hutchinson, as well as the Under 15 team, coached by Mr. Marlon Louis, played in the Under 15 league, while Mr. Eugene Marais’s Under 16’s played in the Under 16 league. The enthusiasm among our seniors this year was so great that we were able to field three Under 19 teams. The 2nd and 3rd teams both played in the under 19B League. Mr Akin Makinwa, one of our PGCE students who was with us in the second and third terms, did a great job of organising and coaching the 3rd team. Our 2nd team was not as fortunate, as they had to adapt to a change in coaching staff during the season. Mr Ralton Leander once again coached the First Team. We are very fortunate to have a coach of his caliber at Victoria Park.
A big thank you to all our teachers and coaches who have been involved with soccer this year, and to Mr Vermaak
for his unflagging support. Thanks too must go to Mrs Lorraine Gow, who helps and supports our players in so many ways. I am truly blessed to work with such a great team! Finally, thanks go to all our players, whose enthusiasm, hard work and commitment make the effort worthwhile.
THE VICTORIA PARK HIGH SCHOOLS SOCCER CHALLENGE
Our own Soccer Tournament drew nearly forty teams again this year. It was a fine afternoon of football, and we a re very proud to be able to offer this competition to our neighboring schools.
With our Under 15s away in Bloemfotein at the Brebner High School Under 15 Tournament, our Under 14s stepped in to fill the gap in this age group. They acquitted themselves well, reaching the semi-final.
First team coach Mr Ralton Leander was determined to tak ethe honours this year. Victoria Park advanced to the final by beating old rivals Alexander Road and Westville Senior Scondary School. In a tense final against the strong team from Hankey, Mr Leander was overjoyed to see his team triumph to win our own tournament for the very first time.
NMMU CHARITY SHIELD
This tournament, organised at the beginning of the second term by the Sports Management Students, has become an annual fixture on our soccer calendar. For the past two years, the advent of Mille as a sponsor has made the competition more fierce.
Our Under 19 team went into the tournament as defending champions. Determined to retain their title, they played valiantly in the group stage, unbeaten in their fixtures and finishing top of their group. A victory over Alex put us once again in the final. Here, however, we lost 0 – 1 to a combined Westville – Sanctor team – a disappointing end to a tournament that we felt we could have won.
VICTORIA PARK TRIUMPHS IN EAST LONDON SCHOOLS’ SOCCER FESTIVAL
The Under 19 Boys’ Soccer team from Victoria Park High School swept all before them at the East London Schools’ Soccer Festival held at the end of June. On one of the coldest weekends recorded in the Eastern Cape, this young and enthusiastic side showed teams from around the country that they are a force to be reckoned with.
After a slow start in the first match against Fairmont High School from Cape Town,Victoria Park eventually emerged victorious after two second half goals from midfielder Freedom Funani. Later on the same afternoon, the team went one goal down against Selborne College, but the set-back only motivated them to fight back. Two goals from Funani saw them take the lead before Selborne once again leveled the score. A final goal by Funani from a pass by Siyabonga Mtyatyeni assured the Port Elizabeth team of the three points.
Saturday morning’s game against East London Tech Stars saw newcomer Siphosethu Twana in fine form. He managed two goals, while the other two in the 4 – 0 victory came from captain Ludwe Tom and Unathi Tyala. The afternoon game against Michaelhouse proved the most difficult of the tournament. Goalkeeper Lyndsay Jennings was in fine form and this, combined with some fearless defending by Vincent Jute, Lonwabo Moss and Akhona Mashaya held off the early attacks from the physically strong Michaelhouse team, but they were unable to prevent the opposition from scoring. However, the superb level of fitness of the Victoria Park team enabled them to gain the upper hand and emerge 2 – 1 winners, with goals being scored by Freedom Funani and Zusakhe Sali.
The final match on Sunday morning was against Kearsney College. The Victoria Park team was able to continue their winning ways, in spite of strong opposition from Kearsney. Within the first ten minutes, Kearsney had scored, and Victoria Park again found themselves forced to fight back. A fine goal from Siyabonga Mtyatyeni leveled the score before half time. In the second half, Freedom Funani again found his scoring form, and Sibulele Rwexana sealed the 3 – 1 victory with a late goal.
Freedom Funani was the top goal-scorer, and four players from Victoria Park were chosen for the “Team of the Tournament”. These were Freedom Funani, Lonwabo Moss, Siphosethu Twana and Zusakhe Sali.
East London Tournament results
VP 2 Fairmont High School 0
VP 3 Selborne College 2
VP 4 E London Tech Stars 0
VP 2 Michaelhouse 1
VP 3 Kearnsey College 1
GREY COLLEGE / FNB SOCCER FESTIVAL, BLOEMFONTEIN
Immediately after the June holidays, we were on the road again, this time to the prestigious Grey College / FNB Schools Soccer Tournament in Bloemfontein, held from 22 to 26 July. This tournament is always the high point of our season.
After the group stage, Victoria Park was unbeaten, having beaten Westville Boys’ High and Glenwood Boys’ High and drawn with Bophelo and St David’s College.
In the quarter-finals, we beat Navalsig High School from Bloemfontein before succumbing to HTS Louis Botha from Bloemfontein in the semi-final. This school has, incidentally, an established soccer academy. In the 3rd / 4th place play off, the altitude and the strenuous 4 days of competition took their toll on our team and we went down to an always strong Benoni High School. Victoria park thus ended 4th in the tournament out of 20 participating schools. Freedom Funani was again chosen for the Team of the Tournament.
A highlight of this tournament is the formal dinner, held each year in Grey College’s Reunie Hall. The venue is steeped in tradition, filled with memorabilia of the famous sportsmen who have attended the school in the past. The guest speaker at this year’s dinner was Gavin Hunt, South Africa’s Coach of the Year for two consecutive seasons. It is truly a privilege to be part of an occasion like this and a real educational experience for our team. As always, their behaviour was impeccable and Mr Leander and I were very proud of the boys.
FNB / Grey College Soccer Tournament results
Group 3
Victoria Park 1 Boophelo 1
Victoria Park 2 Westville Boys’ High 1
Victoria Park 7 Glenwood Boys’ High 1
Victoria Park 1 St David’s College 1
Victoria Park finished first in the group.
Quarter final:
Victoria Park 1 (4) Navalsig 1 (2)
Won on penalties
Semi final:
Victoria Park 1 HTS Louis Botha 3
3rd / 4th place Play-off
Victoria park 1 Benoni High School 3
Victoria Park finished 4th overall out of 20 schools.
ALEXANDER ROAD 7-A-SIDE TOURNAMENT
This tournament, introduced last year by Alexander Road High, is a fun way to end a busy and competitive season. The fields are small and the football fast and furious, with all teams desperate to take home the honours.
In the Under 16 section, Victoria Park emerged winners, beating Lawson Brown in the final. We entered two teams in the Under 19 section. Our First team fought hard and managed to remain unbeaten. As darkness fell, we found ourselves in a desperate penalty shoot-out with Alexander Road Firsts. Goalkeeper Lyndsay Jennings seemed to develop a sixth sense as both the referee and the penalty taker disappeared into the gloom. The three penalties that he saved eventually enabled Victoria Park to take home the medals once again.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INTER-ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
At the beginning of the fourth term, the Department of Education organised an inter-zonal play off to determine the over-all Port Elizabeth Champions. The winners of all 8 zones in the Under 15 and Under 19 age groups were invited to participate. As zonal league winners in both those age groups, Victoria Park went along to Zwide to show what they could do.
Only 5 zones turned up to play in the Under 15 group. It took Victoria Park only one match to end up in the final. It was a hard-fought contest which our very promising Under 15 team might well have won. Unfortunately they could not secure the title in ordinsry time and ended up losing on penalties.
Our Under 19 team made no such mistake. In an exciting and hard contest, they defeated the highly fancied team from Masiphatisane High School by one goal to nil. The scorer was Freedom Funani. This meant that they would face Tamsanqa High School in the final. This game also went to penalties, but Victoria Park made no mistake. Thanks to some accurate penalty-taking and a fine save from Attie Mboniswa (who had a sizzling game in place of Lyndsay Jennings who was ill), they won the game by 4 penalties to 1.
This victory was a fitting end to a wonderful season, as it established our Victoria Park First team as the Overall Champions of the Port Elizabeth Region!
I ould like to thank our wonderful soccer coaches, Mr Leander, Mr Makinwa, Mr Maris, Mr Louis and Mr Hutchinson for their hard work and dedication. You are the greatest! Finally but most importantly, thanks and congratulations to all our players. It would be dificult to find a group more committed or more enthusiastic.
Dr Joan Clarke
Team Manager
U/16 SOCCER
The 2009 soccer season proved to be an exciting and successful one for the U/16 soccer team. Trials for the U/16 team started in the first term and the enthusiasm displayed by the young men was a sure indicator of the wonderful season that was to follow.
Our season got off to an excellent start in the beginning of the 2nd term at the NMMU Charity shield. After convincing victories in the group stage, VP came up against a strong Ncedo High team in the final. With scores tied at full time, the game progressed to a penalty shootout, where the VP players converted all five of their opportunities and Siseko Xatase made an extraordinary save for VP to win the tournament.
The good results continued in the league fixtures where the U/16 team played weekly on Wednesdays. The team won five matches and only lost one match and drew another. The team showed exemplary commitment every week and there was always strong competition for places in the team.
The team joined the first team on their tour to Bloemfontein at the start of the 3rd term and played four friendly fixtures against local schools. Even though we had mixed results, the experience gained from touring and watching the first team in action proved invaluable.
Our season ended with the Alexander Road 7-A-Side Tournament. The team gained three comprehensive victories in the group stage and progressed to the final against Lawson Brown High. After yet another draw at full time, the teams had to decide on the winner in a tense penalty shootout. However, VP held their nerves and came out victorious after nine penalties each. Beside their achievement of winning the tournament, the team also displayed outstanding spirit.
Thus, the VP U/16 soccer team performed well in the league and brought back two trophies to celebrate an excellent season. The commitment and spirit shown through the course of the season was commendable and bodes well for the future of VP soccer.
Eugene Marais (Coach)
UNDER 15 BOYS SOCCER
The Under 15 Boy’s Soccer team had a very successful year. Some highlights included the Brebner High School ITEC Under 15 Tournament in Bloemfontein which saw the team progress through the group stages unbeaten with some fantastic performances by the team. Back in Port Elizabeth the team maintained their excellent form, recording some memorable victories against Alexander Road, Linkside, Lawson Brown and Pearson.
Darryl Bailey, Mzwandile Siswana and Brandon Naude are some stars to look out for in the future. Micheal Roycroft and Darryl Bailey were selected to represent the PEFA Under 15 team in the Inter- District Tournament.
I trust that all the Under 15 Soccer boys will have a fantastic summer break and come back in 2010 ready to make their mark in the under 16 age group.
M Louis (Coach)
UNDER 14 SOCCER
The U14 soccer players were placed in the U15 league, above their respective age group. Therefore, it was a great honor to see these young players achieving the ultimate success in winning the league, despite loosing only one game to our own U15A side.
By not drawing a single game and by gaining a better goal average, helped them secure a win by a single point! It has been a pleasure to coach such a talented and dedicated young team. A special mention must go to Bongo Madlingozi who scored 20 goals this season, playing brilliantly as a striker.
Mr J Hutchinson (Coach)
