Safa Cape Town has cast its net far and wide to ensure that its team is well represented and competitive for the upcoming Bayhill Premier Cup which starts on Wednesday.
So says Goodwin Lewis, the coach who will be in charge of the academy outfit for the second consecutive year. Lewis will again be assisted by Terah Mini and Louise Newman (physio), while the Mother body’s new acting General Secretary, Reyaad Joseph, will manage the squad with Boebie Solomons as the Technical Director.
The 35th edition of the Easter spectacle will be held at Eric Park in Belhar from 27 March till 31 March, with the Final being played on 1 April, Easter Monday, at the Athlone Stadium.
The make-up of the region’s academy side to partake in the Easter tournament has been a contentious affair in the previous two years – but by the looks of things, the problems seem to be something of the past.
According to ‘Oenie’, as Lewis is commonly known, his side has been busy and active for nearly two months just to trim down the pool of talent to the allotted squad of 20 players required to play in the tournament.
“We have boys from all over hailing from areas such as Du Noon, Atlantis, Hout Bay, Gugulethu, Lavender Hill, Uitsig and Delt,” Lewis told No Bones with Jones.
“I think it’s fair to say we are well represented, you. The challenge with assembling a squad with talent from different LFA’s off course is obviously to try and make them gel and play as a unit. And to do that with a limited time frame is a test of your capabilities as a coach, you know. I don’t care who you are, it is challenging.
“So, I have been working with the Bayhill squad for the previous four weeks and it’s been fun. There are some nitty-gritty things that I need to implement in this short space of time and make them understand. But I must say that I am very impressed with their discipline and that makes my work easier, ” Lewis added.
The region’s academy outfit got stuck at the Round of 16 at both their previous outings. At the debut appearance they were knocked out on penalties by the Virginia Sports Academy while last year they fell short against Highlands Park at the same hurdle.
Lewis and his troops have been given a rather tricky draw in Group B along with Ubuntu Academy, Westridge FC and Cape Town City. The irony is that their first fixture last year was also against City and it ended in a 0-0 draw.
Safa will again open the tournament with a clash against the young Citizens at 19:00 on Wednesday evening followed by Ubuntu the follwowing day.
Lewis said that he is confident that it will be the proverbial ‘third time lucky’ to break their Round of 16-curse and progress further in the tournament.
“I think this is a perfect group if you want to progress further in the tournament, as it will be a test for us to emerge stronger,” Lewis explained “Our aim is to get through to the quarterfinals and we know in these rounds anything can happen,” Lewis further stated. “The boys are looking determined and they want to prove a point,” Lewis concluded.
