The defending Bayhill Cup champion Grassy Park United is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to retain its maiden title they won last year against all odds.
The club has again roped in the astute and successful local coach Mangaliso “Shakes” Ntombana in its quest to win back-to-back titles. Bra Shakes’ knowledge and intel on local players and clubs, especially the unknown entities from the townships, will be valuable.
GP’s success not only broke the stronghold of the Academies and PSL clubs such as Stellenbosch FC, Cape Town Spurs and SuperSport United in the past, but also gave local amateur clubs the belief that success in the biggest u.19 tournament on the African continent is possible with the right discipline, commitment and desire.
With the four-month-long playoff campaign concluded and the 12 amateur clubs who have qualified known, it will be interesting to see which local flavour will follow in Grassy Park’s footsteps when the event takes place from 27 March to 31 March at the Erica Parks Sports Complex over the Easter weekend.
Hanover Park FC, Rebels FC, FC Porto, Westridge FC, Young Bafana, FN Rangers, Junction Rovers, Ubuntu Academy, Elsies River United, Clover FC, Everton FC and Rygersdal who have all booked their respective spots in 2024 finals, have one common goal – to show the Academies that a lack of resources and finances should not hamper a club of reaching their goals of becoming the next (amateur) Bayhill champ.
The organisers have already confirmed that the final will be played at the Home of Soccer, the Athlone Stadium – another motivation for the youngsters to defy the odds as it will be a platform for them to showcase their talent.
Grassy Park’s manager Gino Tobin, along with coaches Kurtley Daniels and Rezaan Jacobs, had masterminded a plan to tilt the pendulum in the favour of the underdogs at the spectacle over the Easter weekend.
Tobin pointed out that recent history has shown the gap between the amateur clubs and the professional entities is closing which makes the competition more interesting and unpredictable.
“The Academies have the resources but we have the talent and in my view, we are closing the gap rapidly,” Tobin told No Bones with Jones. “One of the main reasons is also because our coaches are upskilling themselves with Caf licences and are eager to improve their squads.”
Tobin also shared some of his experiences on what made them victorious following their upset win over Spurs in last year’s final. His advice to players is: “They must just play to the coach’s instructions and stick to what is expected of them,” Tobin further added.
“Don’t just do your own thing because you are playing in front of a big crowd with scouts present. Execute the coach’s instructions…that was our success. Everybody had a job to do and that is what they did and I think it’s why we were successful,” Tobin concluded.
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