Africa-Press – Namibia. ST George’s Diocesan School maintained their recent dominance over St Paul’s College in their annual FNB Classic Clashes football encounter, when they beat them 5-4 on penalties on Thursday.
ST George’s Diocesan School maintained their recent dominance over St Paul’s College in their annual FNB Classic Clashes football encounter, when they beat them 5-4 on penalties on Thursday.
In a dramatic match in front of packed stands of singing and dancing fans at the Ramblers field, St Paul’s took the lead three times, but St George’s equalised each time to send the match into penalties, where they won the shootout 5-4 to clinch their fourth title in a row.
St Paul’s took the lead through their striker Yanis Philander, scoring from a defence splitting throughball, but midfielder Tjiueza Hindjou equalised for St Georges from the penalty spot after Ditshaba Jane was fouled in the box, to make the halftime score 1-1.
Another penalty for a foul early in the second half, this time for St Paul’s was put away by Tendai Nyandoro, but St George’s once again struck back when their captain Gabriele Micheletti sent in a long freekick into the box that somehow evaded St Paul’s keeper Lucius Oarum and went into the net.
St Paul’s once again regained the lead when Philander latched onto a throughball to score his second goal, but with a minute of normal time remaining, Oarum failed to clear a high ball and Joseph Nepando pounced to bundle the ball into the net.
St George’s fans went wild with excitement as the match went into penalties, and after the score was tied at 4-4, St George’s keeper Shiloh Black pulled off a save, before Tjiueza Hindjou scored to give them a dramatic 5-4 shootout victory.
After the match Micheletti paid tribute to his team mates on a great performance.
“It was definitely more intense than last year, when we had an easier victory because of the quality that we had, but this year we had to put a lot more work in with the players that we had and we had to fight for it a lot more. We came back three times to take the game to penalties and it showed a lot of heart from the boys. It was a difficult match and I’m very proud of my players, they worked very hard and we left everything on the field – blood, sweat and tears – and it was worth it,” he said.
Micheletti left the field with a leg injury in the second half, but soon returned to the action, saying it was important for him to finish the match.
“Our school family went through a lot of ups and downs this year, so I thought it was right that I don’t give up on them, and I fight through it and show my commitment to the school. St Paul’s put up a good fight, so it means a lot to come through such a difficult match,” he said.
St Paul’s captain Jack Parker said individual mistakes led to their downfall.
“It was an entertaining match with three goals for each team, but the goals that we conceded were just individual mistakes, so that’s quite disappointing,” he said.
“When we went 1-0 up the plan was just to hold onto our lead, so to lose it was very disappointing. I think this year was our best chance in those four years, because they had a really good team before hand, but now our chance is gone,” he said.
In a dramatic match in front of packed stands of singing and dancing fans at the Ramblers field, St Paul’s took the lead three times, but St George’s equalised each time to send the match into penalties, where they won the shootout 5-4 to clinch their fourth title in a row.
St Paul’s took the lead through their striker Yanis Philander, scoring from a defence splitting throughball, but midfielder Tjiueza Hindjou equalised for St Georges from the penalty spot after Ditshaba Jane was fouled in the box, to make the halftime score 1-1.
Another penalty for a foul early in the second half, this time for St Paul’s was put away by Tendai Nyandoro, but St George’s once again struck back when their captain Gabriele Micheletti sent in a long freekick into the box that somehow evaded St Paul’s keeper Lucius Oarum and went into the net.
St Paul’s once again regained the lead when Philander latched onto a throughball to score his second goal, but with a minute of normal time remaining, Oarum failed to clear a high ball and Joseph Nepando pounced to bundle the ball into the net.
St George’s fans went wild with excitement as the match went into penalties, and after the score was tied at 4-4, St George’s keeper Shiloh Black pulled off a save, before Tjiueza Hindjou scored to give them a dramatic 5-4 shootout victory.
After the match Micheletti paid tribute to his team mates on a great performance.
“It was definitely more intense than last year, when we had an easier victory because of the quality that we had, but this year we had to put a lot more work in with the players that we had and we had to fight for it a lot more. We came back three times to take the game to penalties and it showed a lot of heart from the boys. It was a difficult match and I’m very proud of my players, they worked very hard and we left everything on the field – blood, sweat and tears – and it was worth it,” he said.
Micheletti left the field with a leg injury in the second half, but soon returned to the action, saying it was important for him to finish the match.
“Our school family went through a lot of ups and downs this year, so I thought it was right that I don’t give up on them, and I fight through it and show my commitment to the school. St Paul’s put up a good fight, so it means a lot to come through such a difficult match,” he said.
St Paul’s captain Jack Parker said individual mistakes led to their downfall.
“It was an entertaining match with three goals for each team, but the goals that we conceded were just individual mistakes, so that’s quite disappointing,” he said.
“When we went 1-0 up the plan was just to hold onto our lead, so to lose it was very disappointing. I think this year was our best chance in those four years, because they had a really good team before hand, but now our chance is gone,” he said.
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