THERE was a slow start to this year’s Engen Knockout Challenge held at the Moses Mabhida outer sports fields, on Friday afternoon. Hosts, Amazulu Football Club, welcomed KwaNdengezi Brazilian Academy in the opening match. Usuthu (as the home side is known) opened the scoring, after Lindokuhle Zungu calmly slotted a penalty past the diving goal keeper. The home side could have increased the scoring and sealed the game in the first half, however due to some poor finishing, they squandered their opportunities.
Brazilian Academy gave a spirited performance in the second half and almost leveled matters in the opening minutes. Trailing behind a goal, the boys from KwaNdengezi upped the tempo with their brilliant interchange play, great ball rotation and off-the-ball running. Their hard work eventually paid dividends when they equalized against the run off play. With Usuthu now on the back foot, Brazilian Academy went for the jugular and snatched the match in the dying stages of the game, through a header by their midfielder.
Cavin Johnson, head coach AmaZulu FC said: “In this game, the most important coaches are the development coaches because they prepare the future stars for coaches of professional teams.”
Despite their loss in the opening match, Amazulu went on to win the tournament, beating defending champions Royal Eagles 1-0 on Sunday. The winners of each regional event will go head to head in the Engen Champ of Champs event later this year to determine the national winners of the challenge.
The primary focus of the challenge is on the young players who participate in this tournament. Scouts from Premier League Clubs across South Africa flock to find the next star player. Created specifically to promote competitive conditions for under 17s, the Knockout Challenge levels the playing fields, affording young football players an equal chance to perform at their best in the hopes of being scouted and the opportunity of transforming their lives.
Engen Group Sponsorship Manager, Brad Bergh, said that Engen was committed to showcasing and developing the next generation of potential football stars.
“The tournament has proved successful in helping many young hopefuls fulfil their football dreams. It will be interesting to see how many young talented players are identified this year and who may be scouted to take the next step up into the professional ranks of the sport. With youth development being a focus area of football administration, we are pleased that tournaments such as these will contribute to growing the base talent pool and hopefully impact on future results at the higher level,” he said.
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