Mel International School’s U15 side lift the super cup

Mel International School’s U15 football side went head-to-head against Leondale High School.

The two schools participated in the finals of the Ekurhuleni Invitational League (EIL), which was held at Sir Pierre van Ryneveld High School on May 18.

Leondale dominated Mel International in the first half because the team was able to create chances and complete their passes.

Mel International found it hard to challenge its Leondale counterparts.

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Karabo Mokoena did not waste time and scored an opener for Leondale by taking advantage of Mel International’s defence.

Soon after, Mel International picked up the pace, and Senza Mfundisi scored the equaliser for his team.

Both teams continued to fight for the second goal, but neither had luck, and the first half ended in a one-all draw.

Mel International School’s U15 captain, Mbuyelo Machedi, said the first half was emotional for him.

“Facing this school was a little bit scary for me because our goalkeeper sometimes struggles.

“I have learned to trust him and have faith in him. I have been telling him that he should always keep it up and focus on what he is doing and not what happened in the past,” he said.

Both schools came prepared in the second half and they challenged each other, making it hard to score.
The Mel International team fought hard to create chances.

Katleho Manquthu saw an opportunity, grabbed it and scored the second goal for them.

Leondale did not take that lightly but used the second goal against them as an encouragement to push to score an equalizer.

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The team did not have to wait long and scored a second goal to send the game to a penalty shootout.
Mel International School’s U15 side lifted the cup after winning 6-5 in the penalty shootout.

The team’s coach, Ntandoyenkosi Ntuli, said that he was happy with the performance of his team.

“My boys performed very well, even though we did have some challenges. The game was hard when you are looking at two teams that occupied the top spots in the league, it was not an easy game,” Ntuli said.

Leondale coach Brandon Majola said that he was not entirely happy with the performance.

“The performance wasn’t everything we got used to throughout the season. The boys gave it their everything and you could see the disappointment on their faces,” said Majola.