Sodwana Bay Challenge Cup 2001

The Sodwana Bay Football Association held a very successful tournament recently. Sponsorship was sought from the local businesses. A special T Shirt was made by Mark White with the money obtained and there was enough left over to provide cash prizes as well. Matthew Malassis (nephew of Mark White), donated a Soccer kit, which was a present from the "La Providence" School in Bruz, Brittany, France, where Mathew's father, Jean-Baptiste teaches. Apparently the pupils had participated in a sponsored walk to raise the money to buy the kit and then asked Matthew to donate it to the children of a team in Sodwana. Margo White also donated a disposable camera plus the developing costs to record the events of the finals day.

1. Sodwana Bay Lodge Scuba Centre 

2. Coral Coast - Sodwana Bay Lodge Hotel 

3. Coral Divers 

4. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife 

5. Leatherbacks Restaurant 

6. Maak 'n Jol 

7. Odysea Construction 

8. Seamore Diving 

9. Sodwana Bay Lodge Shareblock - Wholeowners and Timeshare Owners 

10. Triton Dive Charters 

11. Visagie Fishing Charters

1. Home Tigers 

2. Young Lilies 

3. Intuthuko FC 

4. Young Boys 

5. King Home Stars 

6. Seabirds 

7. FC Island 

8. Seawater

First Round:

Seawater 1 (0) v 0 (0) FC Island 
A hard fought match. Although Seawater took the lead fairly early, FC Island always looked like they would get back into the match. Both teams had further chances but the defence was too good and there were no more goals.

Intuthuko FC 1 (1) v 1 (1) King Home Stars 
Penalty Shoot Out 4 - 3 
Intuthuko should have won his match in normal time. They took the lead in the first half and should have doubled it not long afterwards. King Home Stars never gave in and they equalised from a superb free kick. It was 1-1 at half time. Despite having many chances, Intuthuko could not get another goal and it went to penalties. Intuthuko had a save disallowed by the resolute linesman but triumphed 4-3 in the penalty shoot out.

Seabirds 0 (0) v 0 (0) Young Boys 
Penalty Shoot Out 4 - 2 
These were two evenly matched teams. They created some chances but the windy conditions made things very difficult for them. It was a very entertaining game despite there being no goals. Unfortunately the Young Boys penalty taking let them down as they missed three times to go out 4-2

Home Tigers 0 (0) v 0 (0) Young Lilies 
Penalty Shoot Out 3 - 4 
This was the tie of the round both being the local teams. The pre match build up by both teams was superb with much singing and chanting. Finally both teams made their entrance and what a spectacle it was. They both proudly marched onto the field amid much noisy support. The game itself was very close. The wind was possibly at it's strongest and it really was difficult. Lilies missed two good chances in the first half and the Tigers were fortunate to be 0-0 at halftime. In the second half it was the Tigers turn to miss easy chances and they really should have won the game with them. Mind you Lilies also missed another easy chance. So to penalties. The crowd, as they had done previously, swarmed around the goal and created a thrilling atmosphere. Both teams scored, 1-1. Then Lilies missed and the Tigers fans cheered. There cheers were replaced by the Lilies cheers when the Tigers missed their next one. Still 1-1. Both teams then scored twice in a row and it was 3-3. The Lilies kept their nerve and went 4-3 up. To the utter dismay of the Tigers fans they missed the last penalty and Lilies had won.

It was however a really good day and all the teams deserved great credit for their play and their discipline. A special mention must be made for the referees who controlled the whole day tremendously.

And so to the semi finals.

These were held on Sunday the 11th November, again at the Home Tigers ground. The draw was made the previous Tuesday again at the Sodwana Bay Lodge Hotel conference rooms. This time the draw was made by Matthew Malassis from France. In between the two semi finals was a penalty competition for the management of the teams. This was a light-hearted affair and produced a final between Jabulani of the Young Boys, and Esau of King Home Stars, to be played on Finals day.

Semi Finals:

Intuthuko FC 2 (1) v 1 (0) Seabirds 
I thought that Intuthuko probably played the best football in the first round and so were the favourites. They started off very well and it was not too long before they were 1-0 up. Then Seabirds started to fight back and a couple times were close to an equaliser. Midway through the first half the Seabirds management got very upset, as they had lost two players to crunching tackles. But the matter was soon settled and it was 1-0 at half time. Although Intuthuko always seemed to be in control, Seabirds were quite capable of equalising and it was no surprise when they equalised albeit through a penalty. It was quite a relief to the Intuthuko fans when they scored the second goal that secured their place in the final.

Seawater 0 (1) v 2 (0) Young Lilies 
This was a very entertaining game. The Tigers fans had decided to support Seawater against their local rivals Lilies, and it made for a great atmosphere. The Lilies took the lead in controversial fashion. The Seawater defence thought they had stopped the ball going over the line but the referee ruled a goal. In despair Seawater directed the ref to the linesman but after a brief consultation the goal was awarded. Seawater did not give in and forced a couple of fine saves from the Lilies keeper, which kept the score to 1-0 at halftime. The second half followed in much the same way as the first and again it was only the Lilies keeper who prevented Seawater equalising. Mind you Lilies missed a couple of chances themselves before scoring the second goal. However they were still very grateful to hear the full time whistle.

And so to the final.

The final and third place matches were held at the Home Tigers ground on Saturday 17th November.
In between the two matches was the final of the Management penalty competition. Esau Gumede of King Home Stars was probably the favourite after the first matches, but Jabulani Ntuli of the Young Boys was looking good. Esau scored his first penalty and seemed to confirm his superiority when Jabulani missed his. The pressure seemed to get to both players as they both missed four in a row. Jabulani had to score his last kick to stay in the match. He did and it went to sudden death kicks. Esau scored easily and once again Jabulani had to score. Unfortunately he missed and Esau had won.

Third Place Match:

Seawater 1 (0) v 0 (0) Seabirds 
This was a very tense match. The Seabirds were physically the stronger side but Seawater seemed to have the edge on skill, which made for a very equal contest. Neither side created clear chances in the first half and the defences remained dominant. It was 0-0 at half time. There were more chances in the second half, as both defences seemed to be tiring. Again Seawater played some nice football but were kept at bay by the stronger Seabirds. Just when it looked like we would need penalties, Seawater finally breached the Seabirds defence to score the winner. A 1-0 victory was just about a fair result but both teams could be proud of their performance.

Final:

Intuthuko FC 0 (0) v 1 (0) Young Lilies 
As would be expected, this was also an extremely tense match. As Lilies were the local team they probably had more support but both teams enjoyed the acclaim of the large crowd. It would be fair to say that Intuthuko were probably pre-match favourites but it soon became clear that like many a cup match before, past form counted for nothing and the cup was anybody's. Both sides played attractive football and both could have scored in the first ten minutes. Then came a bizarre incident. The ref gave a free kick about 30 metres from the Intuthuko goal. The Intuthuko players, and most of the crowd, thought it was their free kick and went up-field in readiness. However the Lilies thought it was their free kick and took it quickly. The unmarked Lilies player then scored as the Intuthuko players looked on in disbelief. The Lilies jubilation was short lived as the mistake was rectified and the free kick was correctly given to Intuthuko. It was to both sides credit that they quickly shrugged off this incident and got back to playing good football. It was 0-0 at half time. During the first half the Sodwana Bay Challenge Cup and Football Strip were proudly displayed around the ground so that everyone knew what was at stake. The second half was very similar to the first. Both teams could have scored with the Lilies keeper again producing some fine saves. The crowd were reacting to everything. If the keeper saved they would cheer, if the opponents missed a shot they would also cheer. It really was a great atmosphere. The ladies selling their peanuts and oranges were forgotten as everyone was enthralled by the game. Extra time was needed, as it was 0-0 at full time. The Lilies finally got their goal in the first period of extra time. Again it could have been either team who scored as the play was very even. Intuthuko tried everything they could to equalise in the second period of extra time, but could not get past the Lilies defence and keeper. The ref somehow added five extra minutes but the Lilies held out to win the first ever Sodwana Bay Challenge Cup. Thankfully the Sodwana Bay Football Association had voted to allow extra time in the final, as it would have been a shame for this match to be decided by penalties.

Winners Young Lilies R400 

Runners Up Intuthuko R300

Third Place Seawater R200

Fourth Place Seabirds R100

1st Round Home Tigers R50

1st Round King Home Stars R50

1st Round Young Boys R50

1st Round FC island R50