The second round of the Gauteng Schools Wednesday Champions League took place at the Muckleneuk Sports Ground in Pretoria, where the School of Excellence experienced its first defeat, but ended the day leading the pack.
u17 Boys Competition
On the opening Wednesday of the league, the School of Excellence scored two convincing wins, beating Mokgome Secondary School 4-0 and Rutasetjhaba Secondary School 3-0, which left them atop the standings.
A week later, they added another victory, working hard for a 2-1 success against Thuto Lefa Secondary School, but in their second outing they went down 0-1 to Je Malepe Secondary. Despite the setback, the School of Excellence remains in first place with nine points.
The two-time champions of the competition, Clapham High, who were unexpectedly held to a 1-1 draw by Ibongo Secondary on the tournament’s opening day, returned to form in the second week and narrowed the gap to the School of Excellence to only two points.
Clapham High stacked successive 2-0 wins over Mokgome Secondary and Je Malepe, the team that ended the School of Excellence’s unbeaten run.
Following the School of Excellence and Clapham High in the standings are Ibongo and Je Malepe, who both have seven points, the same as Clapham, but Clapham has a game in hand, which means they’re well positioned to take over at the top from the School of Excellence.
On Wednesday, Ibongo secured a 2-0 victory over Rutasetjhaba, but were knocked back in their next outing, suffering a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Thuta Lefa.
In the last fixture of the day, Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sport School picked up a tight a 1-0 win over Je Malepe.
u17 Girls’ Competition
In the u17 girls’ Gauteng Schools Champions League, the reigning champions and two-time titleholders, Jabulile Secondary School, find themselves in an unusual position after two weeks of action. They’re currently in fourth place and trail the leaders, Clapham High, who have 12 points, by five.
On Wednesday, Jabulile took on Zithobeni Secondary School in their opening match and settled for a 1-1 draw, but they had no trouble dealing with the challenge of Randfontein High, surging to a 5-0 victory in their second match.
The Clapham High girls’ team maintained their perfect record. They are, in fact, the only side in either the boys’ or girls’ competition with a 100 percent record, having scored four wins from four matches. Their return from Wednesday’s fixtures was a massive 8-1 win over Tembisa High and a 3-0 defeat of Buhle BeMfundo.
All credit to Tembisa High, they shook off their big loss to Clapham High and rebounded with a 2-0 win over Khanya-Lesedi Secondary. After that victory, Tembisa High is only three points adrift of Clapham, and third in the standings, just behind Anchor Independent Academy.
Anchor went one and one on Wednesday, losing 1-3 to Khanya-Lesedi before scoring a 2-0 win over Randfontein High.
RESULTS
u17 Boys
Clapham 2-0 Je Malepe
School of Excellence 2-1 Thuto Lefa
Ibongo 2-0 Rutasetjhaba
Je Malepe 1-0 Rosina Sedibane
Clapham 2-0 Mokgome
Thuto Lefa 1-0 Ibongo
Je Malepe 1-0 School of Excellence
u17 Girls
Zithobeni 1-0 Buhle BeMfundo
Clapham 3-0 Buhle BemFundo
Clapham 8-1 Tembisa High
Zithobeni 1-1 Jabulile
Jabulile 5-0 Randfontein High
Tembisa High 2-0 Khanya Lesedi
Khaya Lesedi 3-1 Anchor
Anchor 2-0 Randfontein High
A passionate reader and dedicated writer, Siya possesses three degrees from Rhodes University including a Postgraduate Diploma at Rhodes University. He also played amateur cricket and soccer, both during his university years. While honing his journalism skills at Grocott’s Mail in Makhanda, he developed a profound interest in the community’s response to crime. Additionally, he covered topics such as art/culture and student politics at Rhodes University in 2022. In his spare time, Siya can be found exploring galleries, dining at restaurants, indulging in literature, taking photographs or savouring his favourite dish, spaghetti.
Source: https://ssschoolsplus.co.za/clapham-high-and-school-of-excellence-lead-gauteng-champions-league/
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