Metropolitan U19 Premier Cup kicks off
A sunny Wednesday afternoon at Erica stadium in Belhar saw the start to the long-awaited Metropolitan U19 Premier Cup. The tournament, also known as the Bayhill Cup after its founders Bayhill United, hosts up to 31 professional and amateur teams from across the country and internationally.
Soccer fans young and old made their way to Erica Stadium with their camp chairs to enjoy an afternoon of football.
There were two opening games, played simultaneously. Masidlale played and won 1-0 against Beacon Spurs, while Santos Academy won 2-0 against Morgenster United.
After a promising build up to the tournament, Spurs players looked disappointed after their loss in their first ever participation in the Bayhill cup.
Spurs coach Oswald Sauls, sharing his views on the game, said his boys were shell shocked in the first half, having never played in the tournament before which is why they conceded the goal in the first half.
“We can do better than we did today and we’ll definitely come back in the next games. We just need to step it up and make use of our chances,” said Sauls.
Ray Lewis, 19, a Spurs player said, “It was a very intense game and we could have done better. We were just not good in the first half, but we came back in the second half. We need to improve on our communication on the field and in our decision making, but we still stand a good chance to go through to the next stage.”
In the other games, Old Mutual Academy beat Robinvale Spurs 2-1.
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