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THE 2015 edition of the Copa Coca Cola tournament climaxes today in Bulawayo, with surprise packages Rujeko and Dewure High Schools battling it out in the boys’ final.
The girls’ section will see a repeat of last year’s final when defending champions Chidyamakono renew their rivalry with St Francis. Both finals are set for Barbourfields Stadium. Rujeko powered into the final courtesy of a 1-0 semi final victory over Prince Edward, while Dewure rode their luck in the second half before beating Chemanza 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out.
Chemanza, the defending champions, could not hold their nerve during the penalty lottery with all their four takers failing to convert. On the other hand, Dewure, who seem to have worked hard on the conditioning of their players, epitomizsd composure when it counted the most.
Chemanza coach Never Mhandu blamed inexperience.
“The penalty shoot-out is a lottery, it can go either way. Today it didn’t go our way because we lacked the experience needed to negotiate such pressure cooker situations,” he said.
On a classic football jamboree day, 24 schools took to the field at Barbourfields, Mzilikazi and Gifford as the country’s most celebrated youth football tournament came to life. Watched by legends and former players such as Ronald “Gidiza” Sibanda, Moses “Bambo” Chunga and Herbert Dick, among others, the youngsters exhibited some excellent techniques. Chunga, the president of the newly formed Soccer Coaches Union of Zimbabwe, was impressed with the talent on display.
“It’s clear we have the talent at the grassroots level, but we seem to be getting it wrong somewhere along the way. The level of skill and awareness exhibited by these boys and girls is amazing and there must be a way of making sure that such talent does not go to waste,” he said.
Online Reporter