Despite struggling to find their feet in the opening rounds of this year’s Coke Cup competition, Nyanga’s Masithandane FC’s under-18 side held their own against more experienced outfits.
They beat Delft’s Leiden Fusion Spurs 4-1, in Grassy Park, at the weekend, to book their spot in the next round.
It seems the soccer gods looked kindly upon coach Nqaba Qamata and his charges as they slipped past the first four rounds of the competition with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of hard work.
Two byes, a 5-1 victory against Crossroads’ Investors FC and Sunday’s victory over Spurs were enough to see them through to the last round of 16.
Now the real work begins for Qamata and his coaching staff as they get down to the business end of the competition.
Masithandane’s youngsters have showed character and commitment throughout competition as they have scored nine and conceded only two goals, in their two matches.
On Sunday, the boys in navy and white started the game slow against Spurs but as the match progressed they found their rhythm and normal attacking style of play.
This was after Spurs kept closing down their attacks. However, goals by Manelisi Ralasi, Anderson Rasmeni, Sifiso Mute and Aphiwe Gqirha were enough to see Masithandane seal the game in the first half. Spurs did get a consolation goal but it was too little too late.
Qamata said despite the lack of opportunities they made the most of it.
“I am proud of how our players played. We never panicked after the slow start because we knew what we are capable of. Four goals in the first half says it all,” he said.
Qamata said his side did lack in a few areas that they need to work on before the last round of 16.
“We need to finish better and be sharper in front of goals,” he said.
Masithandane will have their work cut in the next round where they will face a rampant Milano United.
“I did not watch Milano this season but we will play our normal brand of attacking football. I have great respect for them but I believe we can come out tops. It won’t be an easy game, a silly error from either side will cost them the game,” Qamata said.
Last year Masithandane were knocked out in the first-round of the Coke Cup and Qamata said they worked on a few things on how to approach teams in cup competitions.
“I believe now is our time to shine. My players have showed that they can defend and attack,” he said.
Meanwhile, as expected, favourites Milano’s under-18s were among the biggest winners at the weekend.
The yellow-clad squad popularly known as Easy My Kinnes proved to be one of the most clinical teams in their division, beating Crossroads’ Abatshana FC 6-0 to book their spot in the next round of fixtures.
That means the Kinnes have now scored 10 goals without conceding, in two consecutive Coke Cup matches. They were equally rampant in the last round of 64, beating Cape District side Salt River Blackpool 4-0 to set a date with Abatshana. And, the message is loud and clear, any team that comes up against them need to be on top of their game. In fact, the last few games have shown that Milano are the team to beat right now.
Playing their familiar free-flowing brand of football, the Grassy Park-based side’s front runners were ruthless in front of goal, finding the back of the net with relative ease. Equally impressive at the back, their defenders proved to be stingy in terms of conceding goals. They are hard to penetrate as can be expected of the team with PSL ambitions.