DEFENDING champions Mbekweni United on Saturday outgunned their opponents Paarl Soccer Club to become the winners of the Mayoral Cup for the second year running.
Spectators were treated to probably the most exciting display of football in this year’s tournament with both teams giving it their all to come out at the top.
Paarl showed their intention with an early goal, putting the team from Mbekweni under tremendous pressure.
It almost seemed as if the Paarl players had the edge over their counterparts as Mbekweni found it difficult to convert their hard-worked opportunities into goals.
However, some poor defence from Paarl saw Mbekweni making the breakthrough, levelling the score at 1-1 going into half-time.
Paarl stepped up the pace in the second half and looked to have the game in the bag as they took the lead once again after some clever play.
The players from Mbekweni refused to give up, fighting tooth and nail to keep their Cup hopes alive.
With minutes to go before the final whistle, Mbekweni’s efforts finally paid off as they slotted the second equaliser which sent the game into extra time.
Playing an extra two halves of fifteen minutes each, United looked like a different team altogether as they took the lead for the first time in the match.
Stern defence took the wind out of Paarl’s sails, which saw Mbekweni United take the 2007 Mayoral Cup with a deserved 3-2 victory.
* The final of the junior section between Paarl SC and Mbekweni Cosmos was also a close encounter.
The full-time score was tied at 2-2, forcing extra time to determine the u.15 champions.
Although Cosmos put up a commendable performance to stay in the game, Paarl scored the decider to win the match 3-2.
In the women’s final Lady Hawk showed their dominance as they overpowered Young Juventus Ladies 4-2 while Paarl Veterans went 2-0 up over the seniors from Mbekweni.
The third and fourth place play-offs between City Killers and Young Ideas was a somewhat onesided affair. City Killers thrashed their counterparts 6-1 to take the bronze medal in this year’s Mayoral Cup.
