JVW Diamond Cup defending champions through to next stage

Friday’s action in the JVW Diamond Cup at the UJ AW Muller Stadium showcased competitive and exciting football, with Edenvale High School, the reigning champions, successfully progressing to the next stage of the tournament.

They faced tough competition from Roosevelt High, Germiston High, and Ashton International College (Benoni) in Group C, which proved to be very competitive.

Roosevelt shone, but Edenvale managed to scrape a 1-0 win when they met. Daniel Pratten and Jordan Van Der Linde, the co-coaches of Edenvale High School, and the architects of the school’s successful programme, said the match, against a team that had already won two games, was tough.

Van der Linde commented: “We came looking to secure a first position in our pool, so we knew that we had to go all out and perform. We saw that they [Roosevelt] had done well, so it was always going to be a tough game…but our girls worked really hard, and we are proud of them.”

Pratten weighed in: From our coaching perspective, we’ve had to manage some internal battles here and there with the ladies. We picked a larger squad than we used to in the past based on depth. This year, we have a lot of depth in our squad. Maybe we don’t have superstars or standout players, but the team is what we are focussing on the most and the girls have done well.”

Mental preparation

Tournament football is a mental battle, Van der Linde added: “We’ve both been in a position like this before, playing a tournament and coming back as the defending champions. Our girls have to be in the right space, mentally. We started our preparations in June for this tournament, and we have also been lucky that a lot of girls at Edenvale are interested and want to play football, making our job much easier.”

“The most important thing is that we play for our school. We have the same goal as our girls, and the girls are playing for each other on the field, with trust in one another, and they have the same goal and that is to play for the jersey,” Pratten said.

Depth and versatility

Reflecting on the hard-fought win over Roosevelt High, Van der Linde said Edenvale made a tactical adjustment to help the players manage their fatigue. With that in mind, the players have trained to play in three or four different positions, so as to better manage the workload.

Pratten said this approach is applied from u15 level. By the time players reach the first team level, they are versatile and dynamic.

Highlight

Last year, Tanna Hollis, who now plays for the JVW first team, was a star performer for Edenvale.

“She was responsible for scoring all of our goals in the final match, making her the pivotal element of our team,” Van der Linde said. “This year, however, we have made a significant change. We no longer rely on a single standout player. Each member of the current team contributes uniquely to the game, working collaboratively so that responsibility is shared rather than relying on one individual.”

Pratten said the coaches work with the girls’ strengths to make the best of the talent that they have.

Both coaches expressed pride the achievements of Hollis, who was the leading goal scorer in last year’s JVW Diamond Cup. Van der Linde said: “I coached her when she was about 10 to 12 at JVW. We have always been her staunchest supporters.

“She continues to attend our events, including today, which is beneficial not only for her but also for the other girls who can look up to her. We must acknowledge JVW defender Taylor Berkovic, as well, for her unwavering support.”

Day One Results

Group A
08:30 – Field A: Curro Aurora 1-0 Waterstone College
09:30 – Field C: Hoërskool F.H Odendaal 2-0 Ferndale High School
11:00 – Field B: Curro Aurora 0-1 Hoërskool F.H Odendaal
12:30 – Field A: Ferndale High School 0-2 Waterstone College
13:30 – Field C: Waterstone College 0-1 Hoërskool F.H Odendaal
15:00 – Field B: Ferndale High School 0-2 Curro Aurora

Group B
08:30 – Field B: St Francis College 0-0 Trinityhouse Glenvista
10:00 – Field A: Randfontein High School 1-0 Pretoria High School for Girls
11:00 – Field C: St Francis College 0-2 Randfontein High School
12:30 – Field B: Pretoria High School for Girls 1-0 Trinityhouse Glenvista
14:00 – Field A: Trinityhouse Glenvista 0-3 Randfontein High School
15:00 – Field C: Pretoria High School for Girls 1-0 St Francis College

Group C
08:30 – Field C: Edenvale High School 1-0 Germiston High School
10:00 – Field B: Ashton International College Benoni 0-3 Roosevelt High School
11;30 – Field A: Edenvale High School 0-0 Ashton International College Benoni
12:30 – Field C: Roosevelt High School 1-0 Germiston High School
14:00 – Field B: Germiston High School 2-0 Ashton International College Benoni
15:30 – Field A: Roosevelt High School 0-1 Edenvale High School

Group D
09:00 – Field A: Midrand High School 0-2 Curro Academy Pretoria
10:00 – Field C: Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge 1-0 Curro Thatchfield
11:30 – Field B: Midrand High School 0-0 Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge
13:00 – Field A: Curro Thatchfield 0-2 Curro Academy Pretoria
14:00 – Field C: Curro Academy Pretoria 0-0 Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge
15:30 – Field B: Curro Thatchfield 1-2 Midrand High School

Group E
09:30 – Field B: Norkem Park High School 3-1 Krugersdorp High School
11:00 – Field A: Steyn City High School 7-0 Reddam House Helderfontein
12:00 – Field C: Norkem Park High School 1-0 Steyn City High School
13:30 – Field B: Reddam House Helderfontein 0-5 Krugersdorp High School
15:00 – Field A: Krugersdorp High School 0-2 Steyn City High School
16:00 – Field C: Reddam House Helderfontein 1-3 Norkem Park High School

Group F
09:30 – Field A: Clapham High School 2-2 St Catherine’s School
10:30 – Field C: Curro Wilgeheuwel 3-0 Lyttelton Manor High School
12:00 – Field B: Clapham High School 1-0 Curro Wilgeheuwel
13:30 – Field A: Lyttelton Manor High School 1-0 St Catherine’s School
14:30 – Field C: St Catherine School 0-1 Curro Wilgeheuwel
16:00 – Field B: Lyttelton Manor High School 1-3 Clapham High School

Group G
09:00 – Field C: Parktown High School for Girls 3-0 Mondeor High School
10:30 – Field B: Meridian Cosmo City 5-1 Hillview School
12:00 – Field A: Parktown High School for Girls 3-0 Meridian Cosmo City
13:00 – Field C: Hillview High School 1-3 Mondeor High School
14:30 – Field B: Mondeor High School 1-0 Meridian Cosmo City
16:00 – Field A: Hillview High School 0-2 Parktown High School for Girls

Group H
09:00 – Field B: Rand Girls High School 0-1 John Orr ESS
10:30 – Field A: The King’s School Linbro Park 1-0 The King’s School West Rand
11:30 – Field C: Rand Girls High School 0-0 The King’s School Linbro Park
13:00 – Field B: The King’s School West Rand 0-1 John Orr ESS
14:30 – Field A: John Orr ESS 2-0 The King’s School Linbro Park
15:30 – Field C: The Kings School West Rand 1-1 Rand Girls High School

Fixtures: Round 16 and Quarter Finals 

Field A

Field B

Field C

Semi-finals: Field A

Winner of QF 1 & QF2

Winner of QF3 & QF4

Field B: Diamond Plate 

Loser of QF1 and QF2

Losers of QF3 & QF4

Finals

Field A: Diamond Cup

13:30-14:00, Cup Final: Winner of Fixture 66 vs Winner of Fixture 68

Field B: Diamond Plate

13:30-14:00, Plate Final: Winner of Fixture 65 vs Winner of Fixture 67

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Siya Pongco

A passionate reader and dedicated writer, Siya possesses three degrees from Rhodes University including a Postgraduate Diploma at Rhodes University. He also played amateur cricket and soccer, both during his university years. While honing his journalism skills at Grocott’s Mail in Makhanda, he developed a profound interest in the community’s response to crime. Additionally, he covered topics such as art/culture and student politics at Rhodes University in 2022. In his spare time, Siya can be found exploring galleries, dining at restaurants, indulging in literature, taking photographs or savouring his favourite dish, spaghetti.

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