Saturday 13 August 2016, Pretoria, South Africa
With the eagerly anticipated start of the various Football Leagues around Europe (and South Africa), the 2016 edition of the PFC Super Cup was played under the theme "Cup of Champions" whereby participants played in the colours of last season's League winners & runners up from various European Football Leagues (and South Africa).
The event drew a field of 14 entries - the highest number of participants for a Pretoria event to date !!! This is very encouraging, as it shows that Pretoria is moving in the right direction.
The field included a return for Neilon Waterson and Webster Morris, who both last competed in the Pretoria Open in April 2016. Also included in the field were Conway Julie (returining after last competing in 2013) and yet another debutant in Laurence Drywer!
In Round 1 action, Chessray Jooste (Sundowns FC - last season's SA champs) got his day off to the perfect start by beating pre-tournament favourite Jayden vd Merwe (Bayern Munich) by 1-0. Jayden was facing a battle thereafter especially when in Round 2 he was due to face another favourite in Bevin Reed (PSG) - however, in Round 2 Jayden & Bevin played to an exciting 0-0 draw.
Round 1 action saw Adam Murray (Juventus) dispatch of Rowin Wilson (Dortmund) by 2-0. The highlight of Round 1 ended Julian vd Merwe (WITS - another SA team) 1 v 1 Kegan vd Merwe (Real Madrid) - a match where Kegan took the lead after 6min of play with a well placed shot beating Julian's keeper on the near post ; from a swift counter attack move on the right flank, with long placed passes Julian got into the zone to beat Kegan from an accute angle to equalise on 11min of play - regarded by many present as the goal of the day!Adam was playing well, and by the end of his 4th match he was on 5 points - to join the likes of Jayden, Chessray, Kegan and Julian all on 5 points!
The event deciders came as late as Match 27 & Match 28 - first Kegan (Real Madrid) had to beat Conway Julie (Barcelona) to ensure he remains top of the standings, but Match 27 ended 0-0 . Perhaps the hype about "El Classico" had something to do with it?
In Match 28, the two South African teams (Sundowns - Chessray Jooste) and (WITS University - Julian vd Merwe) had it all to play for especially after Real Madrid failed to take maximum points from "El Classico" previously. The winner of Match 28 would be crowned 2016 PFC Super Cup champion!
The atmosphere was quick as the match got off to a slow pace with both players adopting a cautious approach and nothing like the fast pace they both played at in previous rounds. Chessray opened the scoring on 7min from an attack on his left flank, with his only real chance of the game. Thereafter Julian went on the offensive and Chessray's keeping skills were tested on 2 occassions - but Chessray held firm to end the day as 2016 PFC Super Cup champion and claim his 5th WASPA title to date!
The fact that both South African teams were in "the final" just proves that "Local is Lekker" - translated from Afrikaans : "Local is good too"!
Adam Murray had a good tournament - ending the day as joint top scorer with Jayden vd Merwe. For that effort, Adam was awarded the new PFC club shirt as well. Julian vd Merwe played well all day, and for being in the running all day (until that fateful last match) he too was presented with the new PFC club shirt. An explanation is needed for Bevin Reed's low ranking in the event - midway through the event, Bevin had to depart to attend to a family medical emergency and hence had to suffer the forfeiture of his last two remaining games. We at PFC wish Bevin all the best!
Finally, a big welcome to our latest debutant Laurence Drywer - who actually surpassed all expectations by earning 3points on debut!
Thanks to all for attending and making the day a masive success - and one that will surely live long in the memory!
(report by Julian vd Merwe)
Final Standings - Points
Chessray Jooste (SUNDOWNS) 7
Kegan vd Merwe (REAL MADRID) 6
Jayden vd Merwe (BAYERN MUNICH) 5
Adam Murray (JUVENTUS) 5
Julian vd Merwe (WITS) 5
Conway Julie (BARCELONA) 4
Stanton Nortjie (LYON) 4
Bradley Drywer (ARSENAL) 4
Bevin Reed (PSG) 3
Sherwin Reed (NAPOLI) 3
Laurence Drywer (ABERDEEN) 3
Rowin Wilson (DORTMUND) 3
Webster Morris (LEICESTER CITY) 2
Neilon Waterson (CELTIC) 2
The PFC website & facebook page will be updated shortly with photo's & news content at :
http://pfctest.leaguerepublic.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PFC-SA/519566284755728
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