The Pinelands U19 squads pose before the commencement of the knock-out matches.
The PHS Girls' 1st team played five group stage matches of which they won four and lost only one. They won their opening match 2-0 against the defending champions, Reddam House from Johannesburg. This was a morale-boosting victory for the girls and gave them a good platform for a successful tournament. In their next match they played against a very formidable Kimberley Girls’ side. Unfortunately the Kimberley side was just too strong for the Pinelands girls, who suffered the first and only defeat in this match. In the remaining matches the Cape Town girls proved too strong for the opposition as they swept all aside with relative ease. At the conclusion of all the group matches, the Pinelands girls missed out on a place in the final by the narrowest of margins. Reddam House had edged them by means of a better goal difference and would meet Kimberley Girls in the final. The final was a tightly contested affair, but Kimberley was just too strong and was subsequently crowned as Girls’ under 19 champions of 2016. The most prolific goal getters for Pinelands were Chloé Prince (3) and Kiara Braun (2), while a number of players scored one goal each.
The PHS Boys’ 1st team played five group stage matches of which they won four and lost one. The opening encounter was a Derby match against Bergvliet High, which they won 4 – 0. The Pinelands boys then went on to end the day unbeaten. The next morning the boys lost their opening encounter against Shelly Park High. This defeat proved to be a timely wake-up call for the boys. Against Woodridge College, the Pinelanders staged a remarkable comeback to win 4-1 after trailing 0-1 at half time. This victory helped them to top their group and they met Milnerton High in the semi-finals. Milnerton started the semi-final with a bang after scoring the opening goal in the first 10 minutes of the match. Pinelanders came back to dominate the rest of the match and eventually run out 5-1 victors to clinch a final berth against 2015 runners-up, Alexander Road High form Port Elizabeth.
Pinelands topped their group with 17 points and a healthy goal difference of 8. The final was a replay of the 2015 final. The Pinelands boys played the perfect match and in the end, proved too strong for their opponents. Two quick, unanswered goals in the final by Chad Follentine and Joshua Leonard killed off the tie as Pinelands were crowned Boys’ U19 champions of 2016.The most prolific goal-scorers were Dylan Deane (5) and Joshua Leonard (4).
The captains of the respective sides, Robyn Amsterdam and Bryce Lenders show off the kit which was sponsored by Nashua Cape Town.
The girls showed that they could not only score goals, but that they could also work twice as hard when not having the ball.
The Pinelands boys celebrate the winning goal in the final against Alexander Road.
