MZOXOLO BUDAZA
The Fish Hoek side struggled to find the back of the net, with Asemahle Sawuka, Jordan Allies and Lyle Barnes being their only players to find the back of the net in this competition.
Sawuka and Allies scored two goals each and Barnes scored once.
Fish Hoek finished third in Group G with three points having won one and lost two of their three matches.
They had a chance to leave the tournament with something when they took on hosts Strandfontein in the plate section but, once again, things didn’t go their way as they went down 3-1 on penalties.
Despite bowing out in the early stages of the competition, the Fish Hoek side did produce their usually attractive, and attacking, brand of football but goals eluded them in this year’s tournament.
Maties, the team that lost to Fish Hoek in the 2014 final, walked away with this year’s title, after beating Old Mutual Academy in the final.
Seven goals by Tristan Silence and five by Kyle Ross ensured that this year’s title went to Stellenbosch.
Played over three days at Strandfontein Sports field and completed on Human Rights day, Monday March 21, the tournament saw 32 teams battling it out for the top honours.
And, there was no shortage of action for the fans who came in their numbers, as they witnessed a total of 220 goals being scored in the process.
Ajax Cape Town’s Fernando Laurens was the competition’s top scorer with 12 goals.
The Maties side, was crowned champions after beating an equally impressive Old Mutual Academy side 4-3 on penalties, after a goalless fulltime score, in the final on Monday.
Maties and Old Mutual booked their sports in the final after beating FN Rangers 3-1 and Hellenic 3-2 on penalties, in their respective semi-final matches.
Another side that looked promising was Bayhill United who had a decent run in the competition before going down to Old Mutual.
Their goal poacher, Saleem Williams was deadly in front of goals, finishing second in the scoring charts with seven goals.
The Bayhill side qualified for the knockout stages of the competition after finishing second in Group E behind All Stars.
They collected four points after winning one, losing one and drawing one of their three matches.
They were, in their end, tied on points with Liverpool Portland but their superior goal difference saw them through.
Bayhill had a shaky start to the tournament after going down 1-0 to All Stars in their opening group match on Saturday.
To their credit, however, they bounced back strongly to beat Liverpool Portland 3-0 before playing to a goalless draw against Standards.
That was enough to see them book a place in the last 16 against an equally impressive Mobz Academy.
However, the Bayhill side were in no giving mood as they ran riot over their opponents. Mobz were unable to deal with the onslaught and, in the end, Bayhill were deserved 8-0 winners.
For hosts Strandfontein the tournament didn’t go according to plan as they struggled earlier on. After finishing third in Group F – with two points from three matches – and failing to qualify for the championship stages of the competition, Strandfontein had something to smile about at the end of the tournament after beating Fulham 1-0 in the Plate final.
Nasieg Simons was one of their most outstanding players, scoring three goals in the competition.
