Zimbabwe shows grit and fight against SA u16s
The Zimbabwean u16 and u18 boys’ teams will draw many positives from their performances on Thursday against South Africa in the Allister Fredericks Africa Challenge in Johannesburg.
The series, which began on Tuesday, ends on Friday afternoon at St David’s Marist Inanda.
The Zim boys lost both matches on day three, with their u16As going down 0-2 to the SA u16B team, while the u18s lost 1-4 to SA u16A.
Despite the results going against them, both Zimbabwean teams showed immense character, troubled the home side, and, most importantly for the visitors, showed signs of improvement.
On the opening day, the SA u16B side thumped Zimbabwe 10-0 before putting nine past the visitors on Wednesday.
The u16A side, meanwhile, defeated Zim’s u18A team 3-1 in both meetings and, frankly, dominated proceedings from start to finish.
Something changed on day three, though, and the visitors had a spring in their step.
In the first game of the day, the SA u16B outfit opened the scoring in the fourth minute through a penalty corner converted by Kaden Henderson, from St Andrew’s School, in Bloemfontein.
It took the hosts a full 45 minutes to get their second, however, but it came from a familiar source when Caleb Cilliers doubled their lead in the final chukka.
In between, it was a total battle, and Zimbabwe, led by their talisman Peter Mutimutema, defended like their lives depended on it.
They also linked up well in midfield and put South Africa under immense pressure for the first time in the series.
Goalkeeper Darrel Muchechemera was named the man of the match for his heroic work between the posts.
Coach Forbes Thindwa would have been pleased to see an improvement in his side, but he will demand more from them in their final game on Friday.
While their u16A side narrowly missed out, Zimbabwe’s u18A boys also gave a solid account of themselves against South Africa’s u16A team.
It was far from a walk in the park for SA, and they were made to work hard for their 4-1 win.
Blaine Candy scored the game’s first goal in the second chukka before Stephan Malan and Sbuyiselwe Mchunu made it 3-0 in the third quarter.
Santiago Matroos, then, netted the hosts’ fourth, but it was Zim who had the last say with a strike in the 53rd minute.
A pulled shot inside the circle by Ryan Winterboer met a diving Dean Muzengeza, and he sneaked the ball past Liam Maharaj for Zimbabwe’s first goal of the series.
Muzengeza was named the man of the match and, in the post-match interview, said he was proud to score for his nation.
“It’s such a privilege playing for my country, and scoring the first goal for the country is a big achievement,” he told SuperSport Schools.
Looking ahead to Friday’s last round of matches, he added: “We want to come back stronger and put in more effort and probably score more goals.”
Results and scorers
SA u16B: Kaden Henderson, Caleb Cilliers. Zimbabwe 0.
SA u16A: Blaine Candy, Stephan Malan, Sbuyiselwe Mchunu, Santiago Matroos. Zimbabwe 1: Dean Muzengeza.
Day four fixtures
10:00 – SA u16B vs Zimbabwe u16A
13:00 – SA u16A vs Zimbabwe u18A
