While some big guns and Academy teams have unexpectedly succumbed to the pressures of the grueling Bayhill Premier Cup playoff campaign, underdogs like the Manenberg Sporting Academy have caught the eye and held their own with great aplomb thus far.
So much so that they have progressed to the final Round Robin stage of the prestigious under-19 football tournament for the second consecutive year.
It is also clear that their head coach Diego Mannoe and his lieutenants, Cassiem Van Der Rhede and Phillip Brander are now on a mission to break that curse and ensure they are amongst the 12 teams that will qualify for the tournament proper when they battle it out in the final round of the playoffs to be held at the William Herbert Sports Complex later this month.
The final stage of this tournament will kick-off over the Easter weekend at the Erica Park Sports Complex with the final at the Athlone Stadium on Easter Monday.
Manenberg Sporting Academy fell short at the same stage when they made their debut in 2024 under Pepe Mentoor.
However, his successor Mannoe is confident they could go one better this time round as they are on a mission to emulate Young Idols’ feat when they became the last side from Manenberg to qualify for the finals of the Bayhill in Belhar 15 years ago.
Mannoe’s troops have already dispatched teams like Mandalay United, Lavender Hill FC and they beat Central 3-0 over the weekend which according to Mannoe was a perfect birthday present.
“I can see it in my players’ eyes as they are more focused and hungry to show what they can do,” Mannoe stated to No Bones with Jones. “Bear in mind that 95% of the squad is fully homegrown talent as opposed to last year where half was local and the other half from outside Manenberg.
“The attitude and desire is there and they want to break that curse in order to make new history. They are working hard and are very humble as they know there is a lot at stake,” Mannoe concluded.
