{"id":77437,"date":"2025-07-12T08:57:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T06:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=77437"},"modified":"2025-07-12T08:57:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T06:57:30","slug":"young-goalkeepers-impress-at-engen-knockout-challenge-cape-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=77437","title":{"rendered":"Young goalkeepers impress at Engen Knockout Challenge Cape Town"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Cape Town Spurs vs Rock a Fellas FC during the 2025 Engen Knockout Challenge Day 1 at the Erica Park Sports Ground, Belhar on the 11 July 2025. Photo: Reinhardt Hamman\/BackpagePix.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Orlando Pirates<\/strong> and Bafana Bafana<\/strong> goalkeeper, Brighton Mhlongo<\/strong>, has expressed his excitement at the level of goalkeeping talent displayed on Friday, the opening day of the 2025 Engen Knockout Challenge Cape Town<\/strong> leg.<\/p>\n

Now serving as a tournament ambassador, Mhlongo has been closely following the growth of young players throughout the competition and says Cape Town’s crop of goalkeepers shows real promise.<\/p>\n

“We always expect strong performances from outfield players, but today I was really pleased by the maturity and composure of the goalkeepers,” said Mhlongo.<\/p>\n

“You can see they\u2019ve put in the work. They’re not just stopping shots. They’re organising defences, reading the game, and making key decisions under pressure.”<\/p>\n

Mhlongo also commended Engen for creating a platform that allows every position on the field to shine, including the often-overlooked role of goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

“Goalkeepers often don\u2019t get the same attention as goal-scorers, but Engen has created a platform where even the keepers can step into the spotlight. Today, we saw some of them take ownership of their role and show real leadership. That kind of confidence at this age is rare and it’s encouraging.”<\/p>\n

He added that Cape Town, already known for producing technically gifted footballers, is starting to show real strength in goalkeeping, too.<\/p>\n

“Cape Town has always been one of our strongest football regions. It’s known for developing top players, and now we’re seeing that same standard applies to goalkeepers. That balance is exactly what South African football needs.” he reckoned.<\/p>\n

As a former goalkeeper, Mhlongo was excited by what he saw: “Some of these boys brought back memories – hungry, fearless, and determined to prove themselves. That kind of mindset, paired with the exposure this tournament gives them, is what helps shape future professionals.”<\/p>\n

RESULTS
\n<\/strong>
\nLadies’ Results
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Group A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cape Town Roses 5-0 Stellenbosch FC
\nMagic Ladies 0-2 Cape Town Roses
\nHout Bay United 3-3 Magic Ladies
\nStellenbosch FC 5-0 Hout Bay United FC<\/p>\n

Group B
\n<\/strong>
\nSalt River Blackpool 4-1 Ikamva Ladies
\nIkamva Ladies 0-2 CPUT Ladies
\nCPUT Ladies 0-1 Hotspurs Ladies
\nHotspurs Ladies 0-2 Salt River Blackpool<\/p>\n

Group C
\n<\/strong>
\nReal Brazilians 0-2 RV United
\nRV United 5-0 Ubuntu Football
\nNorway Park Ladies 0-1 Real Brazilians
\nUbuntu Football 4-0 Norway Park Ladies<\/p>\n

Group D\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Goal Hunters FC 0-1 Rygate Ladies
\nStanturf United 0-2 Dangerous Heroes
\nDangerous Heroes 3-0 Goal Hunters FC
\nRygate Ladies 1-0 Stanturf United<\/p>\n

Boys’ Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cape Town City 1-0 Bellstar United
\nMasroosfontein FC 1-1 Valhalla United
\nJuventus AFC 0-1 Everton
\nCape Town Spurs 3-0 Rock A Fellas FC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, Brighton Mhlongo, has expressed his excitement at the level of goalkeeping talent displayed on Friday, the opening day of the 2025 Engen Knockout Challenge Cape Town leg. Now serving as a tournament ambassador, Mhlongo has been closely following the growth of young players throughout the competition and says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":77438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/77438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}