Lim hosts Danone NationaL Cup Provincial finals

POLOKWANE – Megoring Primary School (Capricorn district), Kgwahlele Primary School (Waterberg district), Haggai Independent Private School (Vhembe district), Thapola-A-Nkona Primary School (Mopani district) and Katang Primary School (Sekhukhune district) battled it out for the Limpopo crown.

Haggai Independent Private School from Thohoyandou-K in Venda is the school to watch. It opened in 1993 and now has 320 learners and offers boarding for boys aged between 10 and 18.

This the first time that the school has entered the Danone Nations Cup and they have won through to the provincial finals by beating reigning champions, Benny’s Sports Development and Academy, which has excited coach, Justice Matloga, the previous head coach at Benny’s.

Matloga coached Benny’s from 2004 until 2015 after being approached by David Mufamadi the owner of Benny’s. He has two coaching qualifications: a D Licence from Safa, and a certificate in Sports Development in Coaching from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

In 2011 he was named the Best Coach in Limpopo and in 2013 he won the award for best coach at an under 16 national tournament. The regional finals took place at Benny’s Sports Development and Academy on the 21st of April. Six schools took part.

The players were very nervous going in the playoffs, Matloga said, especially since Benny’s were the 2016 winners of the Danone Nations Cup and they had a lot of experience.

Benny’s were determined to keep their title, but Haggai scored a goal in the second half and their defenders managed to keep Benny’s out until the final whistle was blown.

They played Benny’s again later in the day and scored a first-half goal. Benny’s came at them hard in the second half but never managed to score.

“Our defence was too strong, so we held out and finished on top of our stream,” Motlaga said. That put them in the final against Botsoleni Primary School from Mhinga. A tough match ended goalless and Haggai won the penalty shootout 6-5.