Döbra still need to find their feet
Riverheights win 3 -0
The MTC HopSol Youth League resumed action over the weekend after a two-week break, with Döbra facing another defeat in the U/15 category.
The visiting Döbra side suffered a 3-0 loss against Riverheights Football Academy at the Jan Möhr Football Field.
Riverheights’ goals were scored by Milla Gawanab, Festus Ndakolo, and Ethan Job, securing a decisive victory for their team.
St. Joseph RC High School (Döbra) coach Henry Namulele felt hard done by their second successive defeat of the season.
“The game was good. The boys played well, especially in the second half, but at the end of the day, the other boys were victorious.
“We are re-building the team, as we just brought the boys from grade 8. When you look at the previous game we played, it was not the same, but next time we will do better,” said Namulele.
He added that the boys have not trained in a while because of the long weekend and mid-term break, “so we need to train more. I am very much worried because of the two losses. We are not the Döbra that people know.
“We need to improve. The boys are coming from different schools, so we are building a new team,” added Namulele.
Riverheights’ coach Richard Tjari was happy with the win but felt that there was still room for some fine-tuning for the players to get used to the pace of the league.
“We have new players in the team, so they are still adapting to the way we play. This is the second game and as Riverheights, we like to use energy and it showed today with our win.
“In the first half, the movement was not good because some of the players were still afraid of the new type of play.
“For some, it is the first time playing in the HopSol League altogether, so I keep talking to them which showed in the second half,” Tjari said.
Elsewhere
It was a thrilling encounter late Friday afternoon as CBS U/19 showcased class and skill, defeating a tough Ramblers side 4-1 at the Jan Möhr Football Field.
Despite most CBS players being busy over the Easter weekend with the Newspaper Cup, the team’s performance showed no signs of fatigue, demonstrating their resilience and determination on the field.
CBS coach Henrico Botes gave gratitude to his charges as they executed the game plan. “We forced them to make mistakes and we capitalised on that, which worked well for us.
“At times we were a bit relaxed, so I must work on that a little so that we can manage the game better because it does not matter about the score-line. We need to be humble as well whether we win or lose, so there is still stuff to work on but I’m happy with the performance,” he said.
“We had a pre-season programme for six weeks before the league kicked off, so I expected my boys to be fit and strong coming from the midterm break.
“The only negative part is that a lot of the boys went with the national team for the last two weeks, and some were with the Newspaper Cup, so I was a bit worried about fatigue and injuries.
“Overall, for 70 to 80% of the game, they were very good physically so I’m happy with that, as well as the strength and conditioning.”
Ramblers coach Hafeni Ndeitunga felt his team had a lot of decent chances, which could have salvaged a draw instead of a 4-1 score-line.
“If you can ask the other coaches from CBS, they will say we can actually play and score goals; it’s just that we were not just clinical and they were,” Ndeitunga explained.
“I mean if you don’t take your chances, the other team will score. However, the score-line is not a true reflection of the game. They were just very clinical, and we weren’t. It’s not that our standard is poor, it’s just that with their hard work and determination, our boys will recover regardless,” he stated.
Strauss Lunyangwe
Full results:
Döbra 0-3 Riverheights (FA U/15)
CBS 4-1 Ramblers (U/19)
Van Rhyn 2-4 Ramblers (U/9 Group A)
ACFA A 1-5 SKW (U/9 SKW Group A)
MH Greef 7-6 Van Rhyn (U/9 Group A)
WHK Gym 0-9 DTS (U/9 Group B)
Kamuvare FC 0-15 Swallows (U/9 Group B)
Quest 11 0-6 Swallows (U/11 Group A) ACFA A 5-1 MH Greef (U/11 Group A)
DTS 7-1 Ramblers (U/11 Group A)
Prolific FA 3-1 SKW 2 (U/11 Group A)
KFA 9-0 WHK GYM (U/11 Group B)
SKW 1 6-0 ACFA B (U/11 Group B)
PAY 11-0 Kamuvare (U/11 Group B)
ACFA 1-1 DTS (U/12 League)
Swallows 6-1 Van Rhyn A (U/12 League)
Riverheights FA 0-4 SKW (U/12 League)
Ramblers 5-1 Van Rhyn B (U/12 League)
Onaanda FA 1-2 SKW (U/13 Group A)
Baller Boys 3-1 Riverheights (U/13 Group A)
Prolific FA 3-2 Ramblers (U/13 Group A)
Dama SA 0-3 ACFA (U/13 Group B)
DTS 5-2 MH Greef (U/13 Group B)
KFA 0-2 DSFA (U/13 Group B)
KFA 0-4 Dama SA (U/15 Group A)
SKW 3-0 Baller Boys (U/15 Group A)
DTS 0-1 ACFA A (U/15 Group A)
Swallows 6-1 Jan Mohr (U/15 Group B)
Kasona FA 2-0 ACFA B (U/15 Group B)
MH Greef 0-1 Quest 11 (U/15 Group B)
ACFA 3-1 Dama SA (U/19 League)
OSS 1-1 Swallows (U/19 League)
Riverheights 7-0 Sunshine PS (U/19 League)
Kasaona FA 0-1 Pioniers Boys (U/19 League)
WHK Gym 2-1 OSS (U/19 League)
Swallows 3-1 SKW (U/19 League)
Photos: Tangi Mulundu
Top Photo: Points…Riverheights Football Academy beat Döbra 3-0 in their Group A encounter.
