Toti Over 35’s beat Crusaders 4-0
Sadly for Toti, they are now one of the teams who play to win at all costs these days, any semblance of old age means joining a host of seasoned vets who have been placed on early retirement.
By Gordon Bennett
TOTI Over 35’s hosted Crusaders from Durban North last Wednesday evening at Hutchison Park in the quarter final of the Knock-Out Cup.
Due to the school holidays, a large crowd turned up to watch the match, including a group of mom’s from Toti United’s junior section who had come down with their son’s hoping that they would learn a thing or two from the legends.
They certainly would not have left disappointed as this was one evening that the South Coast men were on top form, proving to be a great example to the youngsters. In the league fixture earlier in the season, Crusaders had frustrated Toti in a goalless draw by ‘parking the bus’ but this tactic would not work in a Knock-Out Cup match as Toti dominated from start to finish. To be fair to Crusaders, the men from Durban North are one of the few teams left in the league who play vets football the way it should be played, meeting on Wednesday evenings for a kick around followed by a few pints and good banter.
Sadly for Toti, they are now one of the teams who play to win at all costs these days, any semblance of old age means joining a host of seasoned vets who have been placed on early retirement. Nevertheless, the management team of Janos Molnar and Deon Dunbar are after silverware and there was to be no hiccup in this quarter final fixture. Goalkeeper, Conrad Rubino was hardly tested thanks to his back four of Michael Chapman, Vishnu Naidoo, Gary Hutchison and Shaun Holmes who stood firm all evening. In the midfield the duo of Mathew Powell and Mark Bingham dominated the possession stakes while wingers Avo Lourenco and Roderick Sass enjoyed the night without any defensive duties. Upfront a good combination seems to be forming between Dale Studinski and Mark Shepherd as Toti finished 4-nil winners, thus ensuring their place in the semi-finals against Marshalls to be played at Essenwood Road on the Berea.
It was good to see kit sponsor Chris Grundy among the crowd, while Martyn Ball who engineered the goalposts was also on hand to keep an eye on the proceedings. The second semi-final is between Fynnlands and Sissonke, also scheduled for 5 August.
