Saturday 16 November 2019, Pretoria, South Africa :
The 2019 edition of the Scudo Campioni event attracted a field of 8 players, including a return to the tables for Adam Murray after an 18 month lay-off. In Round 1 action, Kegan vd Merwe recorded a 1-0 win over 2018 defending Scudo Campioni Champion Jayden vd Merwe. Then, Conway Julie recorded a 1-0 win over Julian vd Merwe, and in so doing Conway became the first player to score on the newly laid "BUSBY PARK" pitch!
Chessray Jooste and Adam Murray probably produced the match of the day in Round 1, as Chessray scored after just 20 seconds of play. Adam then came back to take a 2-1 lead, whereafter Chessray pulled it back to 2-2 and then Chessray got a 3-2 win, scoring the winner direct from a corner kick - in off Adam's goalkeeper rod! Chessray went top of the standings at that point - actually Chessray went on to maintain the top spot right until the start of Round 4 matches.
The pick of Round 2 action saw Julian take a 1-0 lead over Kegan, only for Kegan to equalise with a contender for "goal of the day" - a sweetly struck low shot from a tightly marked position, squeezing in between keeper and post!
Round 3 action saw Gary Downs play to a 1-1 draw against Adam, with Adam pulling off one great save to deny Gary the win! Jayden got his title defense back on track with a hard fought 1-0 win over Julian, for Jayden to go 3rd on the day. Then, the top of the table clash saw Bevin Reed and Chessray Jooste play out to a tightly contested 0-0 draw.
Round 4 saw Gary and Conway play out a 0-0 draw - after much "talk" from both players leading up to the match, but in the end the "talking" was not matched with any goals! Adam then took a 1-0 lead over Julian, with Julian keeping calm - getting the equaliser 5 seconds from the end to salvage some pride on the day. Bevin Reed then scored a late goal to dispatch of Jayden's challenge - a must win game for both players, as a win for either would have secured a play-off place.
The pick of Round 4 saw Kegan triumph by 2-0 over Chessray - with Kegan clinching the Final play-off place against Bevin. That result was Chessray's only loss on the day, and it came at the wrong time for Chessray - as a win for Chessray would have made him the outright 2019 Scudo Campioni winner. A draw for Chessary would have earned the play-off final against Bevin!
The Play-off Rounds then produced more drama - as Conway Julie beat Jayden vd Merwe by 2-1 on penalty shots for the 4/5th place play-off. Chessray Jooste then beat Conway Julie by 3-1 on penalty shots, for Chessray to claim 3rd place overall.
The Final Play-off match : Kegan vd Merwe dominated possession but could not penetrate a well organised defensive line adopted by Bevin Reed, and Bevin was forced to play on the counter attack. At one stage it seemed like Kegan had accepted that this final will have to be decided on penalty shots, as he (Kegan) had thrown everything at Bevin. Then….one chance (and Bevin's only chance) right at the end saw the pace on the shot deceive Kegan, for the ball to creep in and hand Bevin the 2019 Scudo Campioni title!
Afterwards, Bevin declared that he was the "luckiest player in Pretoria" on the day. Nonetheless, this triumph marks Bevin Reed's 16th WASPA title to date!
Final Standings
1. Bevin Reed
2. Kegan vd Merwe
3. Chessray Jooste
4. Conway Julie
5. Jayden vd Merwe
6. Gary Downs
7. Julian vd Merwe
8. Adam Murray
Individual acknowledgements on the day :
"Result of the Day" : Conway Julie for his 1-0 Round 1 win over Julian, becoming the first player to score on the newly laid "BUSBY PARK" pitch
"Safe Hands" : Adam Murray pulled off no less than 10 good saves during his 4 group matches
"Moment(s) of the Day" : Chessray Jooste had 3 goals voted as the best on the day, including the fastest goal - timed at 20 seconds
"Player of the Day" : Kegan vd Merwe - posting an unbeaten run and forcing a play-off final against Bevin Reed
As always, a big thank you to all who attended to make the day a great success. Next - the PFC Copa del Clausura.
The PFC website & facebook page will be updated shortly with photo's & news content at :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PFC-SA/519566284755728
(report by Julian vd Merwe)
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