WATCH: Steven Pienaar Community Cup grand finale
The final of the Steven Pienaar Community Cup (Open tournament) was the main event.
The final of the Steven Pienaar Community Cup (Open tournament) was the main event as all eyes both locally and from different areas came together to witness the community uniting football spectacle.
Yorkshire found themselves in the final facing off with former winners of the competition, Strokes from Eldorado Park. The players and crowd alike started the game with the national anthem.
The opening minutes of the match had little drama to report as both teams stroked the ball around the pitch to build some momentum. As the match wore on in the opening minutes, much to the fans delight, the contest began heating up as Strokes began to up the tempo of the game.
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They played some dazzling football, with fancy footwork much to the appreciation of the supporters. The expansive and entertaining style of play being displayed by the Strokes players was in contrast to the more pragmatic and disciplined approach displayed by Yorkshires, that played more direct and functional football.
The first half concluded with no goals being scored despite numerous opportunities being carved out by Strokes. The second half took a different turn as Yorkshires came to life and started dominating the game by pressing higher up the pitch and allowing Strokes little time on the ball to have any kind of influence on the game.
Yorkshires’ dominance began to tell as the striker almost scored as the ball narrowly missed the far post. Yorkshires came close again midway through the second half through a free-kick as the taker of the free kick struck the ball as it dipped over the wall and agonizingly smashed the crossbar much to the dismay of the local supporters cheering on the local team.
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That was the last bit of drama as the second half came to a close and ended scoreless as the game went into extra time. The first half of extra time had little drama to report as it was obvious that the work-rate demanded by the match itself began to tire the players, but Strokes grew more confident and started dominating possession and pressing higher up the pitch, making them appear as the team that is most likely to break the deadlock.
The first half of extra time ended scoreless, however, the second half of extra time morphed into an altogether different beast. The late substitute, Jake Dalton, introduced by Strokes glanced a header passed onrushing goalkeeper to open the scoring for Strokes.
He scored a second minutes later to punish the bad defending by Yorkshires to put the game beyond reasonable doubt. Thus concluding the match 2-0 to Strokes crowning them Champions of the open tournament for the second time in three years.
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