Durban u19 showpiece starts well
Portuguese giants Benfica and AS Roma won their opening ties in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu.
The event involves some of the best Under-19 sides in the world, bringing together a contrast of footballing styles into a competition that is seen as vital in the development of these aspiring professionals.
Benfica got their campaign off to the best possible start as they breezed past Argentine giants Boca Juniors 3-1 in the opening match of the tournament. The Portuguese side could not afford to miss a second half penalty as they dominated the match from the start.
The European side had the lead in the first half when lively forward Hildeberto Pereira supplied a neat finish following a low pass from the right.That was the way it stayed until halftime, after which the game sprung to life in the second 45 minutes.
Renato Sanches smashed a thunderous drive against the crossbar as Benfica came close to a second, which duly arrived a few minutes later as Kevin Oliveira crashed the ball home via a big deflection.
Boca Junior stayed in the contest when they pulled a goal back through Roberto Padilla, who reacted quickest after Benfica goalkeeper Andre Ferreira had spilled a free-kick into his path.
Benfica were awarded a penalty that was brilliantly pushed onto the post by Boca Juniors goalkeeper Enzo Comino, but there was nothing he could do about the European side’s third.
Sanches got his goal after showing great perseverance inside the box and clipping the ball into the far corner of the net.
The second match of the day saw Roma defeat the KZN Academy XI 1-0 thanks to a first half goal from Matteo Adamo.
Adamo latched on to an error in defence, burst in the penalty area and skilfully clipped the ball past Andile Mbanjwa in the KZN Academy XI goal.
There might have been more goals too, Roma hit the post twice and the ‘home’ side struck the woodwork too as they battled for an equaliser.
The KZN Academy XI grew into the game as it wore on after a nervous start and suggested they would have enough to cause the other teams in the pool plenty of problems.
Next up for Benfica is a meeting with AS Roma tomorrow (17h15), while before that Boca Juniors will tackle the KZN Academy XI (15h00).
Today’s action switches to Group B at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium when Brazilian side Santos play English giants Everton and the South African Under-19 national side face-off against Dutch side Feyenoord.
The top two sides in each pool after the round-robin phase advance to the semifinals, with the final to be staged at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on August 9.
The eLAN Durban Under-19 International Football Tournament is in its inaugural year and is a partnership between the South African Football Association, KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and Ethekwini Municipality.
(Above: Boca Juniors FC vs Benfica)
GROUP A - PRINCESS MAGOGO STADIUM
Jul 31: Boca Juniors 1 Benfica 3
Jul 31: KZN Academy XI 0 Roma 1
Aug 02: KZN Academy XI vs Boca Juniors (15h00)
Aug 02: Roma vs Benfica (17h15)
Aug 04: Boca Juniors vs Roma (15h00)
Aug 04: KZN Academy XI vs Benfica (17h15)
GROUP B - SUGAR RAY XULU STADIUM
Aug 01: Santos vs Everton (15h00)
Aug 01: SA U19 vs Feyenoord (17h15)
Aug 03: SA U19 vs Santos (15h00)
Aug 03: Feyenoord vs Everton (17h15)
Aug 05: Santos vs Feyenoord (15h00)
Aug 05: SA U19 vs Everton (17h15)
DAY 1 GOALSCORERS
1 goal - Matteo Adamo (Roma), Kevin Oliveira (Benfica), Roberto Padilla (Boca Juniors), Hildeberto Pereira (Benfica), Renato Sanches (Benfica)
(File photo:Gallo Images)