David Rossouw
On Sunday 11 August, Pioneer U18 Soccer Club traveled to Site C Sports Complex in Lingelethu, Khayelitsha, where they met Lucky Stars from Gugulethu in a round 64 match of SAFA Cape Town’s 2024 Coca-Cola Amateur Cup.
The prestige competition has now been postponed for several weeks due to sports facilities not being available due to the heavy rainfall of the last few weeks. The match kicked off at 11:30 at the Site C Sports Complex in Lingelethu, Khayelitsha.
Pioneer got the game off to a flying start when Someleze Yalezo controlled a corner kick and headed past Lucky Star’s goalkeeper just 15 minutes into the first half.
As the raindrops fell, Pioneer increased the pace of the game and scored their second goal in the 25th minute when the referee awarded a penalty to Pioneer for illegal play by a Lucky Star player. Ayabulela Magidigid made no mistake from the penalty spot .
With a comfortable 2-0 lead, Pioneer started the second half on a quest for a third goal but was just unlucky to achieve it. “We played well under the weather conditions and kept Lucky Stars under pressure for more than 50 minutes of the game. Our defenders were brilliant in midfield and he did not allow Stars strikers to enter the goal box,” manager Elvis Mbedzi said.
Stars peppered our goalkeeper with balls in the last 10 minutes. After repeated pressure, Stars scored their first and only goal of the game after 55 minutes. However, they tried for the equalizer but our defense held.
Reaching the last 32 is a milestone for my young players. We have developed this team over the past few years and we are now reaping the fruits of success. We recently played in the Bayview U18 tournament and won bronze and I am very proud of this young team who showcase their talents on the field. They not only support each other but also play for each other and that excites me, said Mbedzi.
Pioneer is now anxiously awaiting the result of United Brothers from Langa and Robinvale Spurs from Atlantis as their match was postponed to another date because it was not playable on Sunday 11 August in Langa.
We hope that we can reach the last 16 which will be the alternative for my young team because it will not only make me proud but the whole Dunoon community and our LFA, it added.