SOCCER
SOCCER
1st XI
Back row : S Sibiya , O Mpisane , N Ninela , S Zondi , K Mthembu , Y Hadebe Front row : S Phungula , M Hlongwa , S Vezasie ( vice-captain ), Mr M Trout ( coach ), T Bachoo ( captain ), N Manchev , N Singapi
Overview
The 2016 soccer season has been one of the shortest in College history owing to the encroachment of rugby and hockey at the start of the third term and cricket at the end of that term . Unfortunately , it seems 2017 may be no different . College did , however , begin A-team soccer in the second term this year , a move that will remain in place . There is a drive for schools to start playing some soccer in the second term to make up for all the stolen time from the third term and it seems as though many schools are beginning to come on board with this initiative . Despite a shortened full season , soccer at Maritzburg College continues to grow in numbers each year .
It has been a good year for our A-teams , with many players being selected for Maritzburg and KZN regional teams , as well as the 1st XI reaching the final of the Maritzburg FA Cup . The year also saw the first ever soccer bursary at Maritzburg College being awarded to T Whiteman from Pelham . Whiteman repaid the faith shown in him by his coaches as he not only managed to break the record for College ’ s youngest ever 1st XI player but he also managed to score for the 1st XI , setting the new benchmark for College ’ s youngest ever goal scorer at 14-years-old . Despite the challenges , 2016 has been another successful year for Maritzburg College soccer and we look forward to even more success in 2017 .
1st XI
Mr M Dibben
At the end of pre-season we sat down as a squad and discussed our goals and vision going forward . The following goals were set : 1 ) to hold on to the Raw Cup , 2 ) to win the Maritzburg Schools FA Cup and 3 ) to finish in the top three among the schools ’ soccer fraternity . Our vision was , ‘ If not the best , then to be among the best !’
Because of the way the schools ’ fixtures are set out , it will always be difficult to assess where the school finishes in the league as we do not play schools outside of our ‘ traditional ’ schools fixtures . A set of fixtures was drawn up in the second term whereby schools will play in their region , with the top two schools qualifying to play in the Day of Finals against schools of different regions . Unfortunately the Day of Finals did not materialise but we finished unbeaten in the second term .
Maritzburg Schools ’ FA Cup
The Maritzburg Schools FA Cup was played in the month of August which suited us as this meant it did not interfere with the Sixth Formers writing trials . We went into this tournament with confidence . The teams in our group were Wartburg High School , St Charles and Ixopo High School . All these games were very tight and games were decided by the odd goal , with St Charles being our nemesis .
In the FA Cup final we lost 1-0 to St Charles , and the draw was against St Charles as well . Even though we had numerous opportunities to win this final , we could not convert our chances into goals . St Charles had one opportunity and used it to their advantage and held out for the win . Needless to say there were loads of broken hearts that day .
The Raw Cup vs DHS
This is always a massive highlight on the school soccer calendar with the Raw Cup dating back as far the 1890s . It was all tied at four wins apiece between ourselves and DHS , so there was a lot to play for . The team had gone off the boil in the third term and were struggling to convert chances into goals . Once again we struggled to put the ball into the back of the net . DHS had a penalty early in the first half which they converted and held onto the early lead to regain the Raw Cup .
The 2016 season has been a success and we have continued to produce young men in the different age groups of Inter-provincial sides . We may not have won the Maritzburg Schools FA Cup tournament , or held onto the Raw Cup but the amount of praise and encouragement we received from fans , opposition schools and parents on how we played and conducted ourselves bears testament to the boys , coaching staff and the school . We can feel proud of the squad of 2016 . The number of players who have signed professional contracts as various PSL clubs bears testament to the school ’ s ethos .
Page sponsored by Cameron Desplace ( Class of 2016 )
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