Mavuluma upset Ngweze in Zambezi final
Mavuluma Combined School denied Ngweze Primary School a Zambezi Junior Hockey Festival double after prevailing in a shoot-out to win the girls’ title at the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex on Saturday.
The two sides played to a goalless draw in regulation time before Mavuluma secured victory by a solitary goal in the shoot-out.
The result saw Mavuluma overturn Ngweze’s advantage from the round-robin stage, where Ngweze had accumulated eight points compared to Mavuluma’s six.
Ngweze, however, made amends in the boys’ final by beating Katima Combined School 1-0 through a decisive goal from player of the tournament Jose Katombela.
Hockey School of Excellence project coordinator Erwin Handura highlighted Katombela’s contributions at both ends of the pitch, saying “the writing was on the wall” for a Ngweze victory.
The result also broke the deadlock between the two sides after their earlier round-robin encounter ended in a goalless draw.
Junior development
The festival, organised with support from Standard Bank Namibia, brought together 110 Under-10 players from six schools across the Zambezi Region.
Wild Kids Private School, Mavuluma Combined, Ngweze Primary, Namalubi Combined, Katima Combined and Zambezi Private School contested 24 matches in the competition.
The schools competed in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to their respective finals.
According to Handura, the players displayed encouraging skill levels despite the extremely hot conditions in Katima Mulilo, having gained competitive experience through league matches held in September and October.
The Zambezi event formed part of the Standard Bank Junior Hockey Initiative’s regional development programme, which continues this week with tournaments in Nkurenkuru, Kavango West, on Friday and Tsumeb, Oshikoto, on Saturday.
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