Thrilling end to junior soccer tournament

FOUR of the five finals of the annual John Nance junior soccer tournament, organised by Glenville Celtic at the Errol Heynes field, ended in thrilling penalty shootouts.

Now in its 15th year, the tournament, which started on Monday and ended on Friday, attracted 84 teams from across the metro as well as visiting teams from Cape Town, in divisions ranging from U10 to U19. More than 1200 youngsters participated in the various divisions.

Westlake contested both the U10 and U12 finals and beat Helenvale 4-3 on penalties in the U10 and lost by the same margin on penalties to Park United in the U12 division. In both matches the full-time score was 1-1.

In the only match that did not go to penalties, Saints beat Western Cape visitors Macassar 1-0 in the U14 final.

Cape Town visitors Two Oceans beat Glenville 5-4 on penalties in the U16 division but their luck ran out in the U19 division when they lost 4-3 on penalties to Hotspurs.

The fulltime score was 0-0 in both matches.

"Despite several challenges, the tournament was a huge success", Glenville chairman Victor Burton said.

"Otherwise many of the 1200 kids who participated may have been roaming the streets getting up to mischief."

"It has not been easy to keep the tournament going for 15 years without a cent in sponsorship – we depend on the entry fees and a few stalls to cover costs."

The results were:

U10: Helenvale 3 (1) Westlake 4 (1); U12:  Westlake 3 (1) Park United 4 (1); U14:  Macassar (CT) 0 Saints (1); U16: Two Oceans (CT) 5 (0) Glenville 4 (0); U19:  Hotspurs 4 (0) Two Oceans (CT) 3 (0) - Mogan Segadavan