Tovey and Masinga impressed with Castle Academy SuperStars

Castle Lager Football Academy coaches, Neil Tovey and Phil Masinga, expressed their satisfaction at the quality of football displayed by the Castle Academy SuperStars in their first practice match.

Castle SuperStars thumped NFD side Highlands Park 5-2 at the Balfour Alexandra Football Club grounds on Thursday January 22.

The goals were scored by University of Free State striker Dylan O’Brian, Eleven Experience striker Bongumusa Mabuza from Mpumalanga, Dawny Makgatho from Bafullo United in Limpopo, Tshepo Mokhabi from Free State side Thabang Youngsters and Christoffer Ballie from Northern Cape’s Celtic United.

“This is the first time since we started the campaign two years ago that we are celebrating a win. This shows how the project has grown as the players know they have to give their best performance, and they come prepared when they are selected,” said Tovey.

The players had only two days to prepare for the match as the squad was only trimmed from 45 players to 23 on Sunday evening.

“This shows the commitment in the crop of players we have this season. We only had two practise sessions and we managed to beat an NFD side by a great margin. The players now know the opportunities this project offers them, so they come prepared,” Tovey said.

The SuperStars visit Chloorkop to take on Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday January 24, and Masinga believes the team can match the defending PSL champions on the field.

Masinga said: “The quality of players we have this year is great. This showed in the match we played today, and I believe they will still surprise the teams we will be playing against. For us it is all about them competing, they have to believe in themselves, and for them knowing that they will be playing Sundowns should be motivation on its own. They just have to respect them, but not fear them and play football.”

The match was attended by scouts from the NFD and PSL teams.