The penultimate day of the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge at a packed Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto was full of late drama, upsets, excitement and goals as teams in the U-17, women’s and senior men’s division booked their places in their respective finals to be staged on Sunday.
In the men’s division semi final action, Dube Continental beat Flamingo FC to reach the Discovery final for the first time while defending champions Sneke Chillers are on course to retain their title after they beat Sabelo Super Stars 5-4 on penalties.
Dube Continental captain and centre back Sizwe Malgas was very excited about their win over Flamingo in the semifinal. “We have been preparing for this final since January and our goal was to at least reach the final. In the final we will focus, keep believing in ourselves and score goals. I do believe we stand a good chance of winning.”
During the U-17 semifinal action, Zulu Warriors stunned defending champions Kathorus Hyper Academy 3-2 in what was a thrilling encounter. “It is a dream come true to reach the finals of the Discovery Challenge as we come all the way from KwaZulu Natal. It is our fifth year playing at this tournament and this is the first time we reach the finals, “ said Zulu Warriors Head Coach Oscar Philasande Zulu.
“Each and every game we play I tell my boys to give us 120% so that we can succeed. Without a doubt we are taking the Discovery trophy back to Natal, home. We want to make our parents back home in Pietermaritzburg proud and everyone who has been supporting Zulu Warriors, “concluded Zulu.
Galacticos will take on Zulu Warriors after they won 5-4 on penalties against Orange Army with the game ending in a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Meanwhile, the defending Ya Rona Ladies scored in the dying minutes of the game to beat Jabu All Stars 1-0 while in the first semi-finals Mito Stars defeated Soweto Fabulous 2-0. Ya Rona coach Liya Sweetness Masango said that it wasn’t clear as to which teams were going to make it to the finals because both semi-finals were very competitive.
“The team fought so I think it is going to be a very interesting final as the semi-finals were . It won’t be a walk in the park. Going to the finals tomorrow , the plan is to get those goals because we managed to score one today and we can score two tomorrow as early as possible, hopefully in the first half. We will do our best because nobody wants to see their title being taken away so we are going to give it our best,” said Ya Rona Ladies coach Masango.
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