Royal City take crown again

On Saturday January 17 the u/19 defending Mayoral Sports Development Cup champions of 2014, Mananga Royal City successfully defended their title.

Royal City enjoyed a 6-0 victory. The opening goal was scored in the very first minute against title contenders Schoemansdal Liverpool, however, they were not discouraged and kept pushing to find an equaliser.

In the 17th minute, Oupa Mnisi was rewarded for his skilful footwork when he managed to enter the 18-yard area and find a second goal from what appeared to be a dead ball.

Ten minutes later Royal City found their third goal of the match, putting the clash beyond Schoemansdal Liverpool’s reach.

When the teams returned, five minutes into the second stanza, Liverpool were punished once more when Dan Nkosi extended Royal City’s decisive 3-0 scoreline.

After continuous possession of the ball and midfield control by Royal City, Luck Mhlongo found their fifth goal of the match.

Schoemansdal Liverpool were outclassed and outplayed, however still continued attempting to find a goal. Ten minutes before the 90th minute mark, Nkosi found Royal City’s final goal of the match.

Meanwhile, in the u/17 finals, Dludluma Love and Peace also had a field day when they defeated Mbuzini Hotspurs 3-0. Love and Peace grabbed the lead from the onset when they found the opening goal in the first two minutes after kick-off. The team found their second goal of the match minutes before the half-time interval.

When the second stanza got underway, Hotspurs regrouped and began to dominate the middle of the field. They fought hard for an equaliser, but were constantly kept at bay by the front-runners’ defence.

In the 72nd minute, Love and Peace found their third decisive goal of the encounter. Nkomazi’s executive mayor, Cllr Thulisile Khoza, appreciated all those who made the day a success.

She said, “Thank you to all those who were directly involved in the preparations and logistics of this event. All the teams that participated have also made this day possible. To all the soccer lovers who filled the stadium to capacity, we say thank you, without you this would have been a fruitless exercise.With the talent we have seen ever since the tourney started, I am confident that we are achieving what we had set out to achieve.”