Glenwood High achieved a historic milestone by winning the Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament, defeating Jeppe High School for Boys in the final on Sunday.
The Green Machine needed to stay composed after regulation time in the title game ended with the teams deadlocked at 1-1. Glenwood, then, secured the winners’ trophy by winning 3-2 from the spot.
The tournament, featuring 24 of the nation’s premier schoolboy football sides, witnessed the champions of the Mancosa KwaZulu-Natal High Schools Football Association (KZNHSFA) Coastal A-League capturing their second title of the year.
It has been an exceptionally good year for the Durban school, which also made the final of the Kearsney Soccer Tournament and the Primo Big 10.
Jeppe, too, has enjoyed a strong season. They’ve performed well in traditional clashes, but truly showed their capabilities at the Association of Public Boys’ Schools of South Africa (APBSA) Football Festival held at Pretoria Boys High in July, finishing that event undefeated.
The Johannesburg school has shown encouraging growth under the vision articulated by Jeppe’s Director of Football, Kevin McCarthy, who told SuperSport Schools News about his aspirations last year, when he stressed Jeppe’s commitment to competing with the country’s best at the national level.
Jeppe’s performances at the Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament included a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over the Curro Halala Cup runners-up, Christian Brothers’ College (CBC) Mount Edmund, following a 2-2 draw in the semifinals on Saturday.
They also beat Parktown Boys’ High 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
Glenwood advanced to the final with a 2-0 victory over Pretoria Boys High. Earlier, they beat Hodisa Technical Secondary School 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
After watching his charges capture the title, Khaya Mngwengwe, the Director of Soccer at Glenwood and Chairperson of the Mancosa KZNHSFA, told SuperSport Schools News he was excited to see a plan executed successfully.
“We started this journey four years ago, when these boys were in grade nine,” he explained. “The Grey Soccer Tournament was our main goal.”
The team invested considerable hours travelling to different tournaments, enduring some defeats along the way, Mnewengwe said. However, he emphasised that those losses provided valuable lessons and experience for the Green Machine.
Substantial time was devoted to training, incorporating beach runs, morning sessions, evening sessions, and gymnasium workouts, while also working on developing an appropriate playing style.
The players’ commitment and dedication were essential to their development and success, he added.
“I’m just happy for these boys. Life lessons learnt along the way are what matter to me, and there were many of those,” he concluded.
Brebner High won the Bowl, scoring a 5-4 penalty shootout win over St David’s Marist Inanda, after their match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Wynberg Boys’ High, last year’s Grey College Soccer Tournament winners, won the Plate, defeating Kimberley Boys’ High 3-1 in the final.
RESULTS
Saturday, 26 September
Bowl Quarterfinals
St David’s 3-2 St Andrew’s School
Strelitzia (4) 0-0 (2) Victoria Park
Brebner 6-1 Empangeni
Kearsney College (5) 0-0 (4) Bloemfontein South High
Bowl Semifinals
St David’s (6) 2-2 (5) Kearsney College
Brebner 2-0 Strelitzia
Plate Quarterfinals
Wynberg Boys’ High 4-0 Nedbank Invitational XI
St Stithians College (4) 1-1 (2) Norkem Park
Kimberley Boys’ High 2-0 Durban High School
Reddam House Bedfordview (5) 1-1 (4) HTS Louis Botha
Plate Semifinals
Wynberg Boys’ High 6-2 Reddam House Bedfordview
Kimberley Boys’ High 1-0 St Stithians College
Cup Quarterfinals
Jeppe 3-0 Parktown Boys’ High
Glenwood 3-0 Hodisa
Pretoria Boys High (3) 0-0 (1) Grey College
CBC Mount Edmund 3-1 King Edward VII
Cup Semifinals
Jeppe (4) 2-2 (2) CBC Mount Edmund
Glenwood 2-0 Pretoria Boys High
Sunday, 27 September
Bowl Final
Brebner (5) 1-1 (4) St David’s
Plate Final
Wynberg Boys’ High 3-1 Kimberley Boys High
Bronze Playoff
CBC Mount Edmund 2-1 Pretoria Boys High
Cup Final
Glenwood (3) 1-1 (2) Jeppe
