St David’s Marist Inanda Challenge Cup 2023

There will be new name on the St David’s Marist Inanda Challenge Cup trophy after Brebner High beat King Edward VII 2-1 in the U19 final on Sunday.Brebner scored in the opening minute of the final, and went 2-0 up early in the second half. They created a number of chances but could not extend their lead and KES pulled one back with 10 minutes to go, and then threw everything into the attack, without being able to score. They looked the better side of the two in the closing minutes, with Brebner tiring visibly in their sixth game in three days.Brebner are from Bloemfontein and they have a long tradition of football at the school. This was their first time at the St David’s tournament and they made a lot of friends with their high skills levels and fast-paced game. They did slip up once – to St Peter’s on Saturday – but, apart from that, they looked like the best side on view from day one, and they certainly deserved the title.King Eward looked a little shell-shocked after Brebner scored from the kickoff, but they regained their composure in the second half and if the game had gone on a little longer they might well have levelled matters. St Stithians were one of the pre-tournament favourites and they were very impressive in the pool stages. They caught a KES side that was on fire in the semifinal, however, and eventually finished fourth, going down in penalty shootout to Norkem Park in the playoff game.The under-15 section at this tournament was a knockout competition in the past, but this year it was changed to festival, in keeping with a directive from the Boys Schools Headmasters Association that U14s and U15s should not be involved in leagues or tournaments, for educational reasons.So, there was no winner there, but Grey College were the only team to win all six of their games, so they could be called the unofficial winners, which would make it a double for Bloemfontein!When the final final whistle was blown on Sunday, 576 boys in 32 teams, from 19 schools had played 96 matches, six for each team. They were served by over 100 adults over the weekend and there were sizable crowds, every day.And after all that action the final kicked off at 1.50pm, bang on time. It was quite an achievement, and a weekend well-spent for everyone who was there.Final standings 1. Brebner2. KES3. Norkem Park4. St Stithians5. St David’s Marist Inanda 6. St Peter’s7. St Benedict’s 8. St John’s9. Grey College10. Parktown11. Hilton12. Marist Linmeyer13. Jeppe14. Michaelhouse15. St Alban’s 16. St Andrew’sPlayoff results – Final Brebner 2 KES 1, 3rd place Norken Park 1 St Stithians 1 (Norkem won on penalties), 5th place St David’s 1 St Peter’s 0,7th place St Benedict’s 2 St John’s 1.