Maritzburg College downs defending champs to win the Cowie Cup
Maritzburg College were crowned the 2024 champions of the Cowie Cup after defeating the 2023 titleholders, Port Shepstone, on Barns’ Field on Friday afternoon, to reclaim the title they last held in 2022.
College secured an impressive 2-0 victory, with both goals being scored in the second half of the match after they upped their attacking pressure.
The team’s prolific striker Mazithi Qasha scored the opener for College, getting onto the end of a long through-ball before calmly lofting the ball over the ‘keeper.
Then, just two minutes later, Philasande Khuzwayo delivered an impressively composed strike from outside the box, curling the ball around a defender and into the goalkeeper’s bottom left-hand corner to effectively seal the win for the Red, Black, and White.
College asserted their dominance in the final from the onset, with Zipho Makangela skillfully penetrating the Port Shepstone defences down the right flank. Cheered on by their strong home support, College exhibited superior control of the game with their trademark short, sharp, passing game, and they also appeared more threatening than their rivals.
However, Port Shepstone also had their moments, with Thule Cele narrowly missing a gilt-edged opportunity in the first half after successfully evading the offside trap. For most of the contest, however, College’s high defensive line caught out the south coast side, who were blown up time after time for straying way offsides.
“The offside trap is something that we have been working on for the last three years,” College coach Chemon Petersen told SuperSport Schools Plus after the match. “You will never perfect it, but you will come close, and they did exceptionally well in communicating and judging when to do it. There were many times when Port Shepstone could have got in behind us and made it a one-on-one game with the ‘keeper. But we were very good.”
By not conceding a goal, Maritzburg College was halfway to victory, and as Petersen said: “Offence wins you games, defence wins you championships. That sums it up for us. The defensive unit was amazing.”
While Makangela challenged Port Shepstone down the right flank throughout the game, College held back on trying their luck down the left-hand side during the first half. That was because Sheppie threatened down their right on the counterattack, Petersen explained.
At half-time, however, College decided to go on the attack, which included bringing on Nzolo Ngcemu as a third striker. The home side brought the left flank into play much more through wing-back Braydon Middleton and they were rewarded for that decision.
Another move that paid dividends was switching Malachi Momple to defensive midfielder. College’s Director of Soccer, Nic Haswell, was effusive in his praise of Momple’s contribution. “He’s a very special player with an unbelievably gifted left foot. He always seems to have time on the ball and nothing flusters him,” Haswell said.
“We switched him to defensive midfielder in the second half to get more control over the passing in the game. We felt we had a lot of the ball, but we weren’t making key passers from that key central defensive midfield position.
“What an eye for a pass he has. He knows how to weight a pass, when to play the pass, and he can switch the play.”
Momple made a difference and impressed with his decision-making and the range of his passes. He moved the ball around well, keeping it short and sharp when needed, executing one-twos to get the attack rolling, and finding players out wide with beautiful raking long balls to stretch the Port Shepstone defence.
Haswell also praised College captain KG Matshoge for the example he set and his captaincy. “He’s a young man with such heart and maturity. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with him,” he said.
Reflecting on the win, which followed a victory in the annual Raw Cup clash against Durban High School (DHS) last week, Haswell continued: “You see how much it means to us and how hard we work. If it means this much to me, I can only imagine what it means to our players, particularly our matrics. They deserve this.
“They’ve been through some heartbreak. They were part of last year’s team and they thought that winning would happen naturally, as all teenagers do. They learned the hard way that you have to work for each and every result. To see them grow through that process and learn from their mistakes, you can’t ask for any more as coaches.
“They carried us in the Raw Cup and today, as well. I felt all of the matrics stood up, and were determined to win this game. That composure and leadership really rubbed off on the team.”
While Maritzburg College won three titles in 2023 – the KZN Inland League, the Primo Big 10, and the Pietermaritzburg and Midlands FA Cup – they didn’t win the Raw Cup or the Cowie Cup, so, after some near misses in 2024, it was pleasing for College to finish off the season by capturing the two titles they didn’t land last year.
Five different trophies in two years is quite some haul.
Coach Petersen summed up Maritzburg College’s Cowie Cup triumph: “Port Shepstone was a very good side. They didn’t give us too much space, they didn’t give us much to work with. But I think sticking to our guns and trusting what we’ve worked on carried us across the line.”
