#TuksFootball: TUT ends UP-Tuks hopes of defending Varsity Football title

Posted on September 14, 2018

Sometimes sport can be cruel you can be the best, but it does not necessarily guarantee a victory. The players of the UP-Tuks football team will realise that after they lost 1-0 yesterday at home against TUT in the Varsity semi-final.
 
TUT seemed to have taken a page from the legendary Muhammad Ali’s “playbook” by executing the perfect “rope-a-dope” game plan. It boiled down to TUT allowing UP-Tuks to launch attack after attack but managing to foil it time and again while waiting for their opponents to make that one crucial mistake and then capitalise on it. 
 
And it worked. In the second half, UP-Tuks bungled what seemed like three certain goal scoring opportunities. Then the team’s defenders had a mere moment of lapsed concentration in the 70th minute. That was all it took for TUT to end UP-Tuks hopes of defending the Varsity-title.
 
The real hero in TUT’s victory was undoubtedly their goalkeeper, Sikhumbuzo Ncube, who showed what nerves of steel and keeping a cool head is all about.
 
Simbongile Njokwe (UP-Tuks captain) had no excuse for what happened.
“We knew that TUT is going to be sitting back waiting for us to bring the game to them. We tried to outmanoeuvre their defenders to get the ball into the back of the net, but it was to no avail. TUT had one real chance to score, and they made it work.”
 
Chinedu Okolo who is his team’s top goal scorer perhaps summed it up best by saying: “Winning in football will always be about the team that makes the most of its chances. I honestly believe we were the better team on the day, but we were unable to convert our chances. This makes our defeat all the more painful.”
 
Tlisane Motaung (UP-Tuks head coach) still praised his players saying that they got nothing to be ashamed about.
 
“Every one of you ‘fought’ like true heroes up to the very last minute. So don’t drop your heads.”
 
Motaung is excited about the future. 
 
“We had quite a few young players who made their Varsity debut, and they all managed to raise the level of their play to the next level. That bodes well for the future. I am excited as what might happen during next year’s tournament.”
 
Wits have beaten UJ in a penalty shootout to qualify for the final.
Sometimes sport can be cruel you can be the best, but it does not necessarily guarantee a victory. The players of the UP-Tuks football team will realise that after they lost 1-0 yesterday at home against TUT in the Varsity semi-final.
 
TUT seemed to have taken a page from the legendary Muhammad Ali’s “playbook” by executing the perfect “rope-a-dope” game plan. It boiled down to TUT allowing UP-Tuks to launch attack after attack but managing to foil it time and again while waiting for their opponents to make that one crucial mistake and then capitalise on it. 
 
And it worked. In the second half, UP-Tuks bungled what seemed like three certain goal scoring opportunities. Then the team’s defenders had a mere moment of lapsed concentration in the 70th minute. That was all it took for TUT to end UP-Tuks hopes of defending the Varsity-title.
 
The real hero in TUT’s victory was undoubtedly their goalkeeper, Sikhumbuzo Ncube, who showed what nerves of steel and keeping a cool head is all about.
 
Simbongile Njokwe (UP-Tuks captain) had no excuse for what happened.
“We knew that TUT is going to be sitting back waiting for us to bring the game to them. We tried to outmanoeuvre their defenders to get the ball into the back of the net, but it was to no avail. TUT had one real chance to score, and they made it work.”
 
Chinedu Okolo who is his team’s top goal scorer perhaps summed it up best by saying: “Winning in football will always be about the team that makes the most of its chances. I honestly believe we were the better team on the day, but we were unable to convert our chances. This makes our defeat all the more painful.”
 
Tlisane Motaung (UP-Tuks head coach) still praised his players saying that they got nothing to be ashamed about.
 
“Every one of you ‘fought’ like true heroes up to the very last minute. So don’t drop your heads.”
 
Motaung is excited about the future. 
 
“We had quite a few young players who made their Varsity debut, and they all managed to raise the level of their play to the next level. That bodes well for the future. I am excited as what might happen during next year’s tournament.”
 
Wits have beaten UJ in a penalty shootout to qualify for the final.
- Author Wilhelm de Swardt

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