Muhlaba proud of team despite championship failure

Despite them not making it to the finals of the recent South African Football Association (Safa) and South African Breweries (SAB) championship the technical crew of the u.21 Provincial Soccer Team is nevertheless proud of their performance.
The event, hosted at University of Limpopo, saw University Sports South Africa (Ussa) knocking them out 4-2 in the semi-finals. This after the team had beaten Gau-teng 3-2, Northern Cape 6-0, Mpumalanga 2-0 and North West 2-1 in the group stages.
Head Coach, Jabulani Muhlaba said the boys did the province proud despite their early demise. “We would have loved to go all the way to the final and win the championship but it was not to be. We lost to a good team. They have quality players and individual brilliance while we relied on two or three players for that moment of brilliance and it was not enough,” Muhlaba said.

He commented that the tournament gave their players a platform to showcase their talent against the best players in the country and they used the opportunity very well. “Most of the players have never played in such a tournament. It was a good experience for them and going forward we can only get better.”
He mentioned individual players Frank Motebejane and Kenneth Nthatheni who caught the eye of scouts from Orlando Pirates while Mamelodi Sundowns has shown interest in Sesupo Mahapa and Thabiso Matsaipo. “Those were some of the stars of the team during the tournament. We are proud of them and we wish good luck.”
He remarked that they had been up against some tough opponents but managed to win against them because of determination from the players whom he said showed character and zeal. Muhlaba said he was looking forward to the new team next year and predicted that they too would do well.

Photos & Story – Herbert Rachuene: Jabulani Muhlaba, Head Coach of the Safa and SAB u.21 Provincial Soccer Team.