2009 Veterans over 40’s
Football tournament

Click here to see the photos

The Outeniqua stadium, home of the SWD eagles and the International 7’s event provided the venue for this years Veterans Football Tournament.

The Ten competing teams were drawn into two sections as follows:

After a cold snap earlier in the week the 2009 veteran’s football tournament got off to a good start on Friday 17 July at the Outeniqua stadium in fine weather. The football was of a good standard and apart from Vasco’s 7 – 0 win over West End and Bothasig beating the local George United side 6 – 0, most of the games were tight affairs and at the conclusion of Fridays games Vasco and Bothasig looked well placed in group two with two wins each and Rygersdal topped group One with two wins followed by Corinthians hot on their heals with a win and a score draw.

The big game on Saturday morning kicked off on the B field between Vasco and Bothasig at 10H30. With both sides looking for a win to top group Two this was a tense affair that ended in a 0 - 0 stalemate. Rygersdal played well to beat Evergreens 3 – 1 in group One which saw them guaranteed a semi berth. The uncompromising Boksburg side beat Maritzburg Sporting 1 - 0 in the second round of games to get their campaign back on track. The surprise result of the morning was Corinthians who took their Friday night form into Saturdays games and beat Rygersdal 2- 1 after being 2 – 0 up. With the final match in group one to be played between Corinthians and Boksburg a Corinthians win would have meant they topped their group. This was not to be as the Boksburg boys pulled out all the stops to win the match comfortably 3 – 0.

The final placing in both groups were as follows:

In the first semi final between Vasco and Rygersdal played on the main stadium the match ended scoreless at full time and then went straight into penalty kicks. With both teams missing once from the spot it was neck and neck until John Goodwin the Rygersdal skipper and keeper dragged his penalty past the left upright and left Vasco to convert theirs to go through to the final.

In the second semi final Boksburg went down to Bothasig after Clint White converted an early first half penalty. The final was a tense affair with Vasco pushing hard to convert the many chances they created through their skillful midfield but being denied time and again by the solid Bothasig defense and some outstanding goalkeeping. With a few minutes remaining and the game looking likely to end scoreless Vasco attacked down the right and scored to win the 2009 Veterans Football tournament.

The prize giving took place at the King George hotel. Prizes were awarded as follows:

As per usual we kicked off with the “Crunchie” squad before moving onto the more serious awards:

The All Stars side was announced as follows (these are the best 11 players in their positions at the tournament decided on by our two selectors):

1. Dale Day Bothasig
2. Gavin Fredericks Bothasig
3. Vinod patel Maristburg
4. Selwyn Roode Rygersdal
5. Shane Graff (spies) Boksburg
6. Brian Wiel Vasco
7. Thamsaqua Mntuyedwa Evergreens
8. Arthur Daniel Vasco
9. Steve Du Pont Corinthians
10. Clinton White Bothasig
11. George van der Berg Vasco

Other awards:

• Top goal scorer George van der Berg (5 goals)
• Best player Dale Day – Bothasig
• Most Spirited side West End
• Team of the tournament Maritzburg Sporting.

The winner’s trophy, medals and kit prize from Hummel went to deserved winners Vasco and silver medals to runners up Bothasig.

Once again we were fortunate enough to spend two nights in luxury at the four star King George Protea Hotel. A big thank you to Martin Robinson and his staff for their support and service. The food on both Friday and Saturday night was excellent and the breakfasts as usual were top class. Thanks need to be extended to the following folk:

1. George Football Jnrs who provided the ball boys
2. The first aiders
3. Deon who provided sound and the announcements at the stadium.
4. The SWD Eagles Deon Du Toit who worked hard on preparing both fields.
5. Kidron Koboni from the local municipality who played a huge role in securing the venue and then assisted in providing support from the city.
6. The sponsors Hummel Africa and their representative Lau Jensen who provided prizes etc.
7. Jamie Dearing from George Football club who assisted with selections and preparing the fields for the event.

The prize giving and dinner was a most enjoyable affair with live music supplied by Jovan and Thelma. They kept feet tapping and folk singing late into the evening before most teams moved on to sample Georges nightlife.

To see the photos from this tournament, click here