Willig leads Western Province u14s to SASHOC Nationals gold
Western Province (WP) u14A head coach, Mike Willig, said he was proud of his side’s performances after they claimed gold at the SASHOC National Week in Johannesburg.
The u14 National event ran from 4 to 7 July and was hosted at King Edward VII, St John’s College, and Parktown Boys’ High.
Playing an attractive game, WP dominated from the pool stages through to the final, where they defeated Boland 3-1.
It was a special moment for coach Willig after last year’s u14 group ended with a bronze medal at the same venue.
“I’m proud of the boys. We had a great start in terms of the pool games against Mpumalanga and Limpopo,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We defeated Mpumalanga 4-0, and the boys got a bit comfortable because it’s different playing up in Johannesburg, with the altitude.
“Our best goal-scoring game was against Limpopo (10-0). The guys started to find each other, and we started scoring some flicks, as well, through Chai Rozendaal, which was great.”
After those comprehensive wins early on, Province went on to thump Southern Free State 5-0 before brushing off the defending champions, Southern Gauteng, 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
They met Eastern Province in the last four, and a brace by Rozendaal secured a hard-fought 2-1 win, setting up the final against Boland.
It was always going to be a tough clash against their neighbours, but WP showed up, converted their chances, and defended like their lives depended on it.
Their short-corner defence was immaculate, and up front, Rozendaal made sure he made the most of his opportunities to score a hattrick.
Konrad Gouws replied for Boland in the title-deciding match.
“We know Boland well. All of our schools in the southern suburbs played against their players, but we came in as underdogs.
“It was a challenge to get the boys up mentally, but I told them they could win and beat this side.
“We knew it would come down to PCs and managing their key players, like Konrad and Nathan Phillips up front. We did well, defended multiple PCs, and our goalkeeper, Reuben Rozendaal, made some great saves, including a penalty stroke, which gave us a massive boost.”
The SACS coach took over the u14 side after a spell as manager of the u16A side in 2024. He witnessed firsthand the talent making its way through the provincial ranks and was pleased with what he saw.
“This is a special team,” he declared. “The province is in good hands, and the leadership team is immense.
“You’ve got talented players from 1-16, and with a flicker like Rozendaal and his twin in goal, they will be massive for the province going forward.
“The captains, Macen Lesbirel and Luke Presence, are also proper and up front we have Eli Africa and Alakhe Ntoyanto, who have real striking ability, so the future looks good.”
Province finished the tournament with a whopping 27 goals. Chai Rozendaal scored eight, which tied him with Boland’s Nathan Phillips as the tournament’s top goal scorer.
Final standings
Western Province
Boland
KZN Inland
Eastern Province
Southern Gauteng
KZN Coastal
Southern Free State
Northern Gauteng
Border
Mpumalanga
Eden
Eastern Gauteng
Limpopo
Northern Cape
North West
Northern Free State
