Khashani Young Tigers win defending soccer champions
Khashani Young Tigers’ coach, Rachel Mokgalaka, is pleased with their hard-fought victory on Saturday in a highly contested match against Mavalani Real Mighty Girls, the defending champions of the Mayor’s Cup tournament for women’s soccer.
This followed the Young Tigers’ 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Mavalani Real Mighty Girls after a 3-3 draw in regular play, which forced the match into penalties. Commenting after the match played at Giyani Stadium, Mokgalaka admitted that the game was challenging and expressed her satisfaction with emerging victorious despite the circumstances.
“The match wasn’t as easy as our previous games, but I’m happy that we were able to grind out a clunky win over them,” she said, adding that it was one of the toughest matches they had ever faced. “It felt like a final before the final because we were up against the defending champions, a team we had been preparing all week to meet,” she said.
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“With the main threat now out of our way, the road ahead looks clear for us to reach the finals,” she continued. However, unlike other teams that include players from various villages within a ward, her team has only two players who are not part of the core squad. “This is our usual squad representing our ward; we only added two players from other villages to balance the team, but the rest are my regular players,” she said.
Despite their success, the Khashani Young Tigers are at risk of sustaining injuries that could weaken their performance in the tournament. “As you can see, we’re a complete team with no reserves, so if anything happens to one of our players, we’re in trouble,” she said. She said that they would be seeking additional players from other areas within their ward to strengthen the team.
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Making it to the top four allows a team to walk away with a substantial cash prize in addition to sports kits. According to the municipal prize list, any team reaching the top four in the women’s category wins R8 100, while the third-place team walks away with R10 600.
The top prize for women’s soccer is R18100, followed by R14100 for the runner-up. Mokgalaka, however, is not aiming for the fourth prize; she wants the top prize. “We know that we’ve already won something, but our ultimate goal is to secure the top prize and take the trophy home because that would motivate my girls to work even harder on their football careers,” she said.
