Exclusive: “It’s been a magical start,” says coach of GDL leaders Randburg
Twelve rounds into the Gauteng Development League (GDL) season, coach Skhosiphi Mgobozi and his Randburg AFC u19 boys have toppled some of the giants of African football and, for the first time, they sit at the top of the GDL standings.
That achievement follows a 3-1 win over the two-time defending champion, Highlands Park, on the weekend.
Yet, their ascension to the top, now, appears as if it was almost inevitable. To anyone who has seen Mgobozi’s team in action this season, it was clear they would be real contenders.
In an exclusive interview with SuperSport Schools Plus, Mgobozi reflected on AFC Randburg’s hot start to the season and highlighted continuity and team culture as the two standout ingredients in his team’s success.
“Firstly, we’ve got a really talented group of players who have benefitted from being in our system for a long time and having stayed at the club for a long time. Continuity is very important. It allows us to keep the same group of players, but also improve on that,” Mgobozi explained.
“A lot of these boys have moved through the ranks together, so it’s always good to see them at the end of this journey, in the u19 season, doing so well. So, I think that’s the first point.
“I think, secondly, a big emphasis was on our culture. We’re big on togetherness. We’re big on sacrifice. We’re big on suffering together, and the culture and the competitive element we have in training, we’re seeing that on the pitch.
“You’ve got a lot of talented guys, but our message every day is about what I’m doing – helping the team or is it hurting the team? The team comes first, and together we can achieve good things.
“We all have individual aspirations. We all want to play professionally, whether it’s going to an American varsity, or whatever it might be. But in order to get there, you’re going to need the collective to do so.
“So, credit to all the boys and all the coaches. It’s been a magical start.”
Heading into the showdown with Highlands Park, Randburg AFC was on a five-match winning streak, but they knew that the Lions of the North would present a massive step up in competition.
However, Mgobozi backed his team to utilise their ability to keep possession of the ball to their advantage despite Highlands Park’s reputation for holding a large percentage of ball possession themselves in the past couple of years.
“I think Highlands Park is a fantastic club, Coach Sifiso (Mnguni) is a wonderful coach,” Mgobozi said.
“Our first approach was identifying the step up we needed to take psychologically for a game like that. For the longest time, I don’t think we had beaten Highlands at u19 level, given how successful they’ve been over the last three to five years, particularly in that age group.
“So, we knew from a psychological point of view, we’re going to have to be up for it. We’re going to have to fight for every ball. We’re going to need to have the desire and the belief and the togetherness that we could go, not to draw, but to win.
“This season, the challenge has been, let’s go for the win, go for the jugular, go for the result. So that’s the first psychological piece. Tactically, we knew Highlands is a very direct team, defensively organised, and that they would set either wide or central traps.
“But I think we nullified that well. It was a tough first half. We needed to make adjustments. We saw that they were playing with three at the back and we felt we were just isolated with our one striker.
“We actually pressed with two and then sent in a third wide midfielder in to press them, three on three, which I think really helped and disrupted their supply and allowed us to get more of the ball, which is where we’re strong. We like to keep the ball, hold the ball, and take the ball. As soon as we could affect their supply, we then started to control the game more.”
With the dominance and the rise of Randburg AFC, other smaller teams have shown fight this season with Joburg City, Kathorus Hyper Academy, and Rockefvs standing out against steep competition.
Mgobozi feels SuperSport Schools’ live streaming has levelled the playing field as the smaller teams can now better prepare for the bigger clubs, including Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, and Highlands Park.
“I think the smaller teams are looking and wanting to improve and seeing that they’re having to get better. But I think, for me, the biggest contributing factor is the live streams now, and what you guys are doing with the live streams,” Mgobozi told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“That has given coaches insight into how teams are playing. You can now, for example, watch Joburg City. You can watch their last seven games, for example, and pick up patterns, pick up what they’re trying to do, which has helped in terms of preparation. So, teams are a lot more organised.”
SuperSport United, who topped the table heading into the weekend, dropping points when they were held to a goalless draw at TS Galaxy. Kaizer Chiefs, meanwhile, fell to Kathorus Hyper Academy, who notched a 1-0 win.
Joburg City’s run of five wins on the trot was brought to an end by Jomo Cosmos, who scored a narrow 1-0 win, while Elspark United Academy won 1-0 at East Rand Athletic Club.
Remember Elite Sport Academy edged out Seven’s Academy, claiming a 3-2 victory, while Tuks won by the same score against School of Excellence.
League newcomers, Rockefvs shared the points with Mamelodi Sundowns after holding the Brazilians to a 1-1 draw.
RESULTS
Randburg AFC 3-1 Highlands Park
TS Galaxy 0-0 SuperSport United
Kathorus Hyper Academy 1-0 Kaizer Chiefs
East Rand Athletic Club 0-1 Elspark United Academy
Remember Elite Sport Academy 3-2 Seven’s Academy
Jomo Cosmos 1-0 Joburg City
Tuks 3-2 School of Excellence
Mamelodi Sundowns 1-1 Rockefvs FC
