A miracle needed for Dale College to beat Selborne this weekend
Dale College will go into Friday’s clash against an unbeaten Selborne College side knowing that nothing short of a miracle will be needed to win the clash that has been one-sided for the longest time.
Dale has had one of their most unconvincing seasons, losing several matches on the way come up against a side in form, and looking to close off the season unbeaten in the Province.
In their latest fixture against Selborne, the Dale boys lost (6-0) in East London and with their latest match resulting in the same score against Makhanda’s St Andrews College, the mountain will be steeper for the side.
A fixture that turned out to be one-sided, with St Andrews whipping the home side, and scoring six goals while Dale only managed a solitary goal by Gavin Walton.
That result epitomized the type of season Dale College has endured on the turf.
When SuperSport Schools spoke to the assistant coach of the team, Andrew Senekal in May ahead of their clash against Queens, the coach mentioned that the side was suffering mentally from the long run without a win.
“There are various challenges that we’ve had, and coming from the festival where we didn’t get any wins, it’s tough,” he said at the time
“A lot of the mental aspect is low at the moment; we are trying to get the boys in the correct mental head space and get them to work together again.”
One may argue that the side needed the mid-year break to work on some tactical issues and potentially come back stronger to end the year on a positive note.
Since then, the side came back and drew with Stirling High (1-1) before the St Andrews thumping.
If a draw against the East London side is anything to draw confidence from, the side will aim to shift that confidence and energy into the Selborne clash.
The side from East London has remained consistent throughout the whole year. They have managed to maintain their attractive style of play which has seen them counterattack teams and force errors.
In their last match, they thumped Queens College (9-2) in the FNB Classic Clash.
That performance certainly delivered a statement that, the season might be coming to an end, but KJ Friend’s side is still eager to play.
In saying so, the side will travel to King knowing exactly where to punish Dale’s defence which has been shaky all season. As for Dale, a miracle of some sort will be needed to keep a side fired up to finish in the top 20 in the school rankings away.
The action between the sides kicks off at 16:00.
The teams:
Dale College: Inga Mafanga, Gavin Walton, Sbongisile Nzima, Kamva Tolwana, Hlumelo Ntlola, Joe Mendoza, Siyabonga Madlwabinga, Akanani Msutu, Lihumelo Ncukana, Caleb Ellis, Amangile Songelwa, Endinako Mnguni, Hlomla Kostauli, Naledi Mosebi.
Selborne College: Charlie Caswell, Gray van Heerden, Daniel Gaylard, Shane Stagg, Ben van der Merwe ( C ), Masibulela Siswana, Tre’ Gilbert, Daniel Conroy, Jaques van der Merwe, James Carr, Daniel Sirgel, Lunga Malusi, Waeden Plaatjes, Cade Kock.
Other matches:
Woodridge College host Westering High School, while Stirling High School play Cambridge.
St Andrews College, and Kingswood College have wrapped up their respective seasons while Queens College and Grey High will have a break before their final matches of the season in the following week.
Fixtures:
16:00 – Dale College vs Selborne College
17:20 – Cambridge High School vs Stirling High School
19:25 – Woodridge College vs Westering High School
