Rygersdal FC has reaped the rewards for showing belief and trust in their talented youth by winning the LFA Cape Town Tygerberg’s Knock-Out Final 3-1 (1-1) against their fierce rivals Wynberg St. Johns (WSJ) at the Edgemead Sports Complex on Saturday evening.
It was also a first title for their experienced coach Anwar Gallant in his debut season. Gallant has also been victorious before with Hanover Park FC as assistant coach to Andrew Pequeno, when the duo guided the Brasse Vannie Park to promotion to the ABC Motsepe League.
Gallant, assisted by the reliable and loyal David van der Merwe (manager), rates their KO title right up there.
“Firstly, we have to thank the Almighty for allowing us the opportunity to showcase our talents and for protecting the boys from injury,” Gallant told No Bones with Jones.
“I always knew it was going to be a tough encounter as Wynberg St. John’s is a quality team with great support. The windy conditions made it even more difficult. The full-time score is a reflection of the match.
“The match could’ve gone either way within the 90 minutes. I’m just happy that in extra time the boys found another gear and momentum swung our way. The victory is a testament to the great work the Exco and youth coaches have put in.
“The first team is an extension of this. We had seven boys under the age of 18 years and five boys under the age of 21 in the squad. The experience of winning a Cup Final will definitely instill many positive attributes in them,” Gallant added.
Meanwhile, the club’s chairman Justin Asher also highlighted that their success is vindicated due to the fact that the club placed a big emphasis on their youth set-up this season.
“This has been evident through our success with the Bayhill and Engen qualifications,” said Asher. “Though it will be hard to repeat every year, we’ve made massive strides in getting to this point and the players are being rewarded with first-team call-ups.
“I think in total 11 members of our squad for this year’s knockout were under the age of 21. If I am not mistaken, seven represented us in the Bayhill and Engen tournaments. We also bid farewell after the Knockout Final to our under-18 captain and first-team defender, Jaylyle Williams, who played his last game for us before heading off to Cape Town City to join their Diski setup.
“This is the third player we’ve sent off this year. Zinedine Steyn has just left us for Cape Town Spurs and just prior to the Engen, Jean Topley made the move to join Stellenbosch and is now an Engen Champion.
“So, while it’s sad to be losing players, we’re obviously doing something right and hoping that we’ll keep providing a platform for talented young stars to reach their dreams in weeks, months and years ahead,” Asher concluded.
Rygersdal’s veterans capped off a perfect day for the club when their senior men (over 50’s) also won their division’s Knockout-title.
