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Ricky Zililo in Colleen Bawn
MTSHABEZI High School will make their maiden appearance at the Copa Coca-Cola national boys’ Under-15 soccer finals next month after being crowned Matabeleland South champions in Colleen Bawn yesterday.
The Brethren-In-Christ Church-run school from Gwanda South district beat Zezani of Beitbridge 1-0 in a final they dominated from the first whistle.
Dylan Dube scored the solitary final goal three minutes before full time. Zezani had some players vetted out, leaving them with only 11 players that carried them through the group stages right up to the final.
Zezani players were visibly tired in the final and could not match their Mtshabezi counterparts, who exhibited a beautiful passing game that won admiration from supporters.
Dube was happy with his performance and is eager to impress at the national finals in Zvishavane from July 12-14.
“I can’t take all the glory because we worked as a team. We were doing it for the pride of our school and now that we are provincial champions, what is key is to make the province proud in Zvishavane,” Dube said.
Mtshabezi had earlier lost 0-1 to Zezani in the group stages. The provincial champions hammered Plumtree 3-0 to progress to the semi-finals as best runners-up.
In the semi-finals, Mtshabezi beat Phakama from Bulilima 1-0 through a Dube strike.
Mtshabezi coach Lizwe Nyathi said: “I’m happy that we won these tough and exciting provincial finals. It’s quite a nice feeling to be going through to represent the province and experience how it is to be at the national finals. The boys are happy and looking forward to the games in Zvishavane. We will go back to school and work on some of the mistakes we noted.”
Results
Pool A: Colleen Bawn 0-0 Mzingwane, Kafusi 1-1 Colleen Bawn, Mzingwane 2-0 Kafusi
Pool B: Zezani 0-0 Plumtree, Mtshabezi 0-1 Zezani, Plumtree 0-3 Mtshabezi
Pool C: Phakama 4-1 Wanezi, St Sebastian’s 0-1 Phakama, Wanezi 2-1 St Sebastian’s
Semi-finals: Mtshabezi 1-0 Phakamani, Mzingwane 1-2 Zezani
Final: Zezani 1-0 Mtshabezi
— @ZililoR
Online Reporter