Nzhelele Soccer Academy were crowned champions of the Mphephu Ramabulana Foundation Youth Tournament, when they beat Luvhalani Sunshine Pirates 2-1 in the final, played at the Rabali Stadium on Saturday.

Pirates were all over Academy in the opening minutes. Academy did not panic, despite playing with their backs against the wall. Instead, they took their time to study their opponents and made sure that they neutralised them at strategic points.

Pirates enjoyed more ball possession, but their promising moves were turned into disappointment by the rock-solid defence of Academy.

This trend continued in the second half and was influenced mainly by the fact that Academy were cooling the ball down in the middle of the park, thus giving their opponents no chance to do as they pleased as was the case in the first half.

Vhonanai Mudau of Pirates scored the only goal for his team, after he finished off a pass from Rendani Ramulumbi.

Academy came back strongly in the last half. They continued to mount pressure on the defence of the local lads. They equalised in the 60th minute, after a defender of Pirates miskicked the ball and Trevor Magwalu scored easily.

Academy managed to score their second goal, despite the fact that their opponents were playing defensive football. They were awarded a free kick in the 20-meter area. Ndivhuwo Khathula beat the offside trap and tapped the ball in. The keeper of Pirates, Michael Mulaudzi, tried to save the situation by blocking Khathula’s way, but he was not successful.