LHS fight back to claim victory
The last soccer match in the Lowveld soccer league was played between Lowveld High School and neighbouring Hoërskool Bergvlam on Thursday.
The two u/15 teams made their intentions clear from the onset, with Lowveld High taking an aggressive stance early on.
According to the team coach, Sihle Sibande, the home team always plays to gain control early, which is the game plan across all the age categories.
“Bergvlam played on the counter and we looked to establish our dominance early on,” he said. As the game progressed, Bergvlam scored a quick goal in the eighth minute of the game, indicating that they would fight for a win.
“The first noteworthy play of the game came when they intercepted the ball in the midfield, proceeding to attack and take a shot from outside the box. The ball ricocheted off one of our players, spinning off to hit the crossbar and went out for a goal kick.”
Sibande added that the opposing team’s goal came through quick passing from the midfield, after which they went on the attack.
“A beautiful through ball was played and slotted past the goalkeeper into the bottom corner to make the score 1-0.”
Lowveld High, now on the backfoot, went on the attack in search of the equaliser.
This proved a bit elusive, and the teams went into the dressing room with Lowveld High trailing.
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A quick pep talk during the half-time interval seemed to have done the trick, as the side emerged more focused.
“The talk galvanised the boys, re-energised them and got them to focus. We made a few positioning changes and restarted.”
The changes did the trick in the second half after a near miss from Lowveld High after seven minutes in.
“Bergvlam were looking to stop our attacks, leaving them thinly spread in the midfield, but Lowveld High continued to dominate the match.”
The home team’s strategy paid dividends after a box scuffle which saw the ball crossed in from the left. Bergvlam’s defence failed to clear the ball effectively and the rebound fell onto Njabulo Shongwe’s foot, who slotted it past the goalkeeper at close range.
The next few minutes of play saw Bergvlam scrambling to restore their lead, but with about ten minutes of play left, Mothoe Sebake chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to claim the victory.
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