By David Rossouw
For the first time, Dunoon Youth Sports Academy and Jomo’s Power will compete in the 34th edition of the Bayhill Premier Cup Easter weekend soccer tournament following qualification.
The Bayhill Premier Cup is one of the country’s oldest youth football tournaments, but qualifying for the tournament’s final 14 spots is extremely difficult for u19 teams.
The preliminary round began in October with 178 teams and was reduced to 28 on the weekend of February 11 – 12 at the William Herbert Sports grounds.
Only the top two teams from each of the seven groups advance to the final round of 32, where they will compete for the South African u19 title over the Easter weekend at Erica Park in Belhar, Cape Town.
On Saturday February 11 and Sunday February 12, the neighbouring local football association clubs from Dunoon and Atlantis and Jomo’s Power AFC faced their toughest test.
In their first match, Dunoon Youth Sports Academy (DYSA) defeated Woodlands United 1-0 on the D-field at 9am, with Avela Mntuyedwa scoring the game’s only goal, while Jomo’s Power AFC from Atlantis drew 2-2 with Steenberg United.
The two teams returned on Sunday 12 February to ensure their place in the final 32. After losing 0-1 to Hanover Park in their first match, DYSA bounced back in their final match against group winner Young Bafana when Sandiso “Junior” Sino scored the equalizer.
Jomo’s lined up at 11:30 am. against Tafelsucht FC, knowing that a win would guarantee them a place in the prestigious tournament, but they draw 2- 2.
At this point coach Arnold Marlow was a nervous wreck, knowing that only a victory over Hazendal at 3:30pm would ensure qualification. In the final match, Jomo’s defeated Hazendal 1-0 and won Group F with eight points, two more than Hazendal, who also qualified.
“It was really tough but it is a dream come true for us after so many disappointments of qualification previously. We now get a chance to compete against the country’s top professional clubs,” Marlow said.
Adding two more township teams to the Premier Cup edition is a great accomplishment for the two local football associations (LFAs), demonstrating that the gap between amateur and professional league clubs is closing, said Marlow and DYSA coach Zolisile Seku.
Both coaches hoped their clubs’ fans would come out in force to support them at the Premier Cup battle on Easter weekend.
“The hard work will begin with providing the players with enough match time to ensure that they are in good shape for Easter weekend,” Seku said. “We will heavily rely on the community and businesses to support our teams because we were financially depleted by the high cost of transportation and food we provided to the players during the play-offs.”
It will be the first time a Dunoon team has competed in the Bayhill Premier Cup, while Atlantis will be representing the LFA for the second time, following in the footsteps of Robinvale Spurs in 2005.
Businesses or community organizations interested in contributing to the success of these two teams can contact the management of both teams via email at dunoonysa@gmail.com and ithriam7@gmail.com.