Six higher education institutions unite in football at Nelsville Sports Ground
The organisers aim to boost the number of teams participating in the tournament.
It rained goals at the Nelsville Sports Ground on Saturday, May 31, when six institutions of higher learning competed in the Eduvos Soccer Tournament, hosted by Eduvos (in partnership with Galito’s) to showcase the talent of players of public and private institutions in the city.
In an exciting final, Eduvos FC and Forek FC played to a goalless draw at the end of 90 minutes. Eduvos picked up their dominance and pace 20 minutes into the first half, but Forek were not ready to back down.
Before the quarter mark was reached, a strike by Eduvos was blocked by Forek goalkeeper, Tshepo Mokoena, denying them an opportunity to take the lead. When the referee blew the whistle for half-time, the players’ disappointment with their lack of goals was written on their faces.
The second half got off to a dramatic start after Eduvos introduced fresh legs, optimistic to take the lead, but Forek’s defence was not shaken and the back four were solid on defence. By the 56th minute, Forek had created a number of chances using both the left and right wingers to attack, taking shots at goal and corner kicks, but all were well defended by their opponents.
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Eduvos had three chances in the last eight minutes of the game, but failed to convert them into goals. The game was decided on penalties. Eduvos managed to score two goals from the penalty spot while Forek scored three, cementing their win.
The Eduvos Mbombela campus aims to host this tournament annually, increasing the number of competing teams to 16, and including other sports such as rugby, tennis and hockey. In the matches leading up to the final, Nelsville YS defeated Ehlanzeni TVET FC 2-0, while Forek were beaten 2-1 by Rosebank FC.
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Eduvos FC won 7-0 against Unigrad FC. Eduvos were defeated 2-0 in their first game against Forek. The match between Eduvos and Rosebank had to be decided by penalties after it ended 0-0, Eduvos won 9-8. Forek FC defeated Nelsville YS 1-0.
