ExxonMobil/Petra Under-14 league
…as players head into quarter-finals
After an exhilarating round of 16, the ExxonMobil/Petra Under-14 League is gearing up to stage quarter-final action this weekend. This round of play will pit the top eight teams against each other, with fight to the death action in order to advance to the semi-final round.
Given the impressive exhibition of skill, talent and wit so far, the final eight are expected to put on an even better show come Saturday.
St George’s Secondary and Dolphin Secondary will want to avoid any close calls, given that they were both involved in penalty shootouts in the round of 16. Although it was a near-miss scenario, both teams will want to keep up their excellent defence tactics, to which their victories can be attributed.
North Ruimveldt Multilateral will look to continue their winning streak after stumbling in the first few matches of the tournament. The team have had their downs, like their 3-1 loss to Vergenoegen Secondary earlier in the competition but their ups in the form of a 4-1 onslaught on Carmel and a 3-0 win over Queenstown last week should be enough to inspire them.
Tucville Secondary had a great outing last week, sending out Carmel Secondary on a 9-0 defeat; this coupled with a few wins in the previous weeks should be enough motivation to push the team forward. On the other hand, a confident Buxton team will also grace the field on Saturday. With a 7-0 win over Ann’s Grove last weekend and a 6-0 win over St George’s the previous week, they too should have what it takes to master the quarter-finals.
However, the team to watch closely is Chase’s Academy. As if they are taking pattern from their senior Under-18 counterparts, the team have been dominant in the competition since its inception. With a knack for high-scoring games, they defeated Brickdam Secondary 4-0, New Campbellville Secondary 5-2 and just last week they handed down a 7-0 thrashing of Uitvlugt Secondary to send them out of the competition.
The highly-anticipated matches will go down at the Ministry of Education Ground, Carifesta Avenue on Saturday.
