Soccer News of Saturday, 16 February 2013

Source: OMP

Shock waves as MTN Soccer Academy nears finals

IPMC’s Sellassie Roy Xavi became the unlucky team mate last Sunday night to follow in the footsteps of six of his colleagues who have already been shown the exit since the beginning of the MTN Soccer Academy 6- Skuulz Challenge Eviction Show.

The eviction of the sixteen-year old midfielder sent shivers down the spine of many that had gathered to witness the Show, as Sellassie was one of the few teammates who many had tipped to make it to the final and possibly emerge as the ultimate winner.

Selassie will obviously be missed by Patrons of the Show for his speed and ball juggling prowess which has always been a wonderful spectacle to watch. Head Coach of the Soccer Academy, Herbert Addo, described the chap as “a good offensive mid fielder” who has the potential of becoming a better player with good coaching and tactical discipline.

The night’s 5-a-side match saw the teammates taking on a select-side of last season’s ‘MTN Soccer Academy 5-Reloaded’ teammates in a game that saw the latter try to establish some seniority over the former.

The Skuulz Challenge teammates would however not be intimidated by age or seniority, as they put up a strong showing, and their toughness evidently paid off when a powerful shot from Daniel Azubire of Bolgatanga Senior High School in the first half gave the ‘juniors’ a lead.

The ‘Reloaded’ teammates returned into the second half of the game with a strategy that saw them try to hold on to the ball more and this perhaps did the magic for them when a long range shot from Gyimah gave the ‘seniors’ the equalizer.

Try as the Reloaded teammates did to register a second goal, it eluded them and the Skuulz Challenge team mates could have also won the game had it not been a missed penalty by Franklin Asante of St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Show obviously gave patrons more than what they had even asked for, as was seen in the display of splendid musical performances by one of Ghana’s Hiplife icons, Screwface and budding Reggae sensation, Stonebwoy, who kept the crowd on their feet dancing to their wonderful tunes.

Selassie’s eviction now leaves seven team mates in the competition with one or two more evictions before the final showdown.

Franklin Asante of St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School emerged as the new Captain, taking over the Captain’s band from fellow team mate, Bawa of Wa Senior High School.

This upcoming Sunday’s Eviction Show will no doubt be one of the most crucial, given last Sunday’s shocking exit of Selassie, as it has become obvious that predictions do not always guarantee a person’s stay in the competition, but maybe the SMS votes, good sportsmanship and some luck could also play a major role in this determination.

The Eviction Show will be telecast live on Ghana’s preferred sports station, Metro TV who are also the Event’s official TV Partners. The MTN Soccer Academy 6- Skuulz Challenge is an innovation of Optimum Media Prime, a member of the Global Village Group and proudly sponsored by MTN.