Fuad Esack
A solitary goal separated newly-crowned Coke Cup champions, CR Vasco da Gama from their worthy opponents, FC Tafelzucht, with the Parow-based side lifting the trophy after a tight 1-0 victory, at Athlone Stadium, at the weekend.
A well-timed volley into the back of the net, courtesy of Jayden Petersen, caught the Tafelzucht defence off-guard, barely three minutes into the second half. Petersen picked up a shoulder injury just before hitting the mark and was rewarded for his effort with a man-of-the-match award at the post-match presentation.
No doubt, Zucht certainly had the pedigree to pull one back, but they came up against a Vasco side brimming with confidence. A club that can field two quality sides in two separate cup finals, on the same day — the one at Athlone and at the Western Cape ABC Nedbank Cup in Beaufort — is one for the books.
Second on the log in the Cape Town Tygerberg LFA, Vasco had gone unbeaten in 21 league matches and had suffered only two losses for the entire season. The club’s Regional Motsepe League (RML) team also went unbeaten for the entire first round (19 games) and won promotion to the ABC Motsepe League in July.
In this year’s Coke Cup campaign, they’ve only conceded two goals in nine games and not one goal conceded since the last round of 32.
With injured captain Ryan “Chippie” Dyers out and two squad members drafted to the ABC side battling in Beaufort, the biggest headache for coach Robert Pretorius and co was selecting a squad of 20 for Saturday’s Coke Cup final.
Petersen’s match-winning goal was just what the doctor ordered to help calm the nerves.That, and news that the club’s Motsepe side beat Barcelona FC 3-0 to be crowned Nedbank Cup stream winners, made for double celebrations, as if Christmas came early.
“This Coke Cup is for the people,” said Pretorius, now in his third season as coach at Vasco and part of the team that reached the last round of 16 in 2022.
He said the competition is an ideal platform for players to pit their strength against teams from across the city, giving soccer fans the chance to watch teams from other areas.
“If you want to play and succeed in it, then you need to play in different areas, under different conditions,” he said.
“I love this competition and you have a chance to show your worth against other teams outside of your own LFA,” he said.
FC Tafelzucht coach, Oswald Sauls, quick to congratulate his opponents, agrees.
“The Coke Cup is like the FA Cup in England. Any club would want to play in it and make it as far in the competition as possible,” he said. “It is what I always dreamed of as a player and Saturday will be a day that I will treasure for the rest of my life.”
“I think we did very well containing them, just a split second lack of concentration gave them the goal,” he said.
Although disappointed with the result, team manager Nigel Hawyn said their focus will now shift to the Hollywoodbets men’s regional play-offs.
“We came far, despite all our obstacles. I’m satisfied, the guys really played hard, they tried their best to win,” he said.
• In other action, Antalyaspor JPM Cape Town beat Hanover Park FC 1-0 in the under-18 division and Philippi’s Dangerous Heroes beat UCT 4-2 to take the women’s title.
