I was really encouraged by what I saw on the pitch between the next generation of Cape Town City and Stellenbosch stars at the weekend.
The two sets of youngsters left it all on the pitch in an exciting Diski Challenge derby clash KwaMhlanga on Sunday, where the Citizens’ youngsters came from two goals down to win 3-2 and claim all three points.
There were several players from both sets of teams who impressed.
Comeback kings: Derby edition 👑#DStvDiskiChallenge pic.twitter.com/tWyws1LwPR
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) March 27, 2023
Stellies striker Roy-Keane Avontuur who opened the scoring, is a hard-running striker that resembles that of red-hot star of the Stellies senior team Iqraam Rayners.
He will fit right in should coach Steve Barker come calling for the 19-year-old to make the step up to the senior team.
In midfield they have Ethan Felix, a midfielder who showed that he has capabilities of bossing games and is both comfortable creating play and dangerous with the dead ball.
Meanwhile, City has Jaedin Rhodes, who has already made an impression in the senior team and should become a regular feature in the PSL next season.
The sneaky attacking midfielder started the comeback for his team with a neatly-taken curler into the top corner.
Highly-rated Luphumlo Sifumba was being tracked by a defender for much of the game, but the youngster showed a lot of maturity by not trying too hard and kept things simple with well-timed passes to keep his side ticking.
It was from his corner that City got the winning goal, headed home by Jordan Allies at the far post.
The Soweto Derby clash between the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates reserves was just as exciting.
Pirates’ Relebogile Ratomo proved why the streets are talking about him being the next Buccaneers star.
He converted a penalty to open the scoring, which set his side up for the 3-1 win over their rivals.
All this excitement about these players will be in vain if they don’t get exposed to higher levels of play, especially internationally with the national teams.
A 81-page report by former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger, who is now the FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, has highlighted a lot of shortcomings in SA’s youth development.
One of the key points in the report found that SA junior national teams are not exposed to a good range of opponents and that the number of matches they play is insufficient to promote sound players.
It’s no surprise that Mzansi did not have a representative in the U20 Afcon that took place in Egypt recently.
That also means that there is no chance for any U20 youngster from this generation will compete in the World Cup as qualification is decided at Afcon tournaments.
The U23s Olympic dreams have also ended after only two matches, as they were knocked out of the qualifiers by Congo-Brazzaville on Monday.
⚽️⛺️🗞️
— SAFA.net (@SAFA_net) March 27, 2023
South African Under-23 Men’s team miss out on AFCON and Olympics https://t.co/mTkLwWnzv8
They drew 1-1 when they hosted the first leg at an empty Dobsonville Stadium on Thursday and were held to a goalless draw in the Congo which means that they lost out on away goals rule.
Cape Town Spurs trio, goalkeeper Lincoln Vyver, defender Rushwin Dortley, strikers Ashley Cupido and Boitumelo Radiopane will have to find ways to pick their heads up when they return to Ikamva.
The battle for promotion continues for the youngsters in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Updated log after Sunday's matches #MFChampionship https://t.co/YKda6xhRTR pic.twitter.com/ycEwM7s9Vn
— The NFD (@the_nfd) March 19, 2023
Their next assignment is a trip to Soshanguve to visit JDR Stars on Saturday afternoon.
They are tied on points with Casric Stars, who they will host next weekend, but occupy the top spot because of a better goal-difference.
Promotion battles are the type of situations we need for our young players to face.
They need to be able to handle the pressure when the stakes are high.