An interesting statistic is that TUT has never lost an away encounter against UP-Tuks in the Varsity Tournament, nothing changed last night.
TUT managed to beat the defending Varsity champions 2-1 to keep the proud tradition going.
It would be difficult for any UP-Tuks supporter to take anything positive from the game. Given the players had put a valiant effort right up to the dying minutes. But alas the biggest frustration was that the team never looked like they are capable of scoring goals.
Tlisane Motaung (UP-Tuks head-coach) said they did not expect to lose.
“But in hindsight, I guess the result is no surprise. We have never managed to win our first game during a Varsity Tournament. We really wanted to change that, but it seems it was not meant to be.
“But I am not overly disappointed. I think the ‘boys’ did well especially if you look at the statistics of the game. The problem was that we made two mistakes. I felt it should have been dealt with defensively. The reality of football is that if you make mistakes like that you are going to be punished.
“I think there were opportunities to score, but the players erred tactically. Instead of trying to take the play closer to the goal they opted to shoot from far out.”
Simbongile Njokwe (UP-Tuks captain) had no excuses for what happened.
“I play at a crucial position on defence. Therefore, I boldly can say that I should take the “bullet” for the mistakes we made. As captain, it is my role to make sure at all times that our lines were tight and organised.”
As has become the norm when he dons the “Striped jersey” Claudio de Almeida was again the great plan maker. With his nimble footwork and uncanny ability to read the game, he was continually pressurising TUT’s defenders.
Nhlanhla Mabaso scored UP-Tuks's only goal during injury time as he headed in a superb cross kick. Lebogang Phatlane scored both TUT goals.
UP-Tuks is playing UJ next week. Motaung expects a tough encounter especially since UJ was rampant last night against the University of Limpopo winning 7-1.
“UJ has got their tail up and will be highly confident, but then again we are like a proverbial wounded tiger. I think the players will be up to the challenge. We just need to focus on a few things during the week to ensure that we don’t make the same mistakes again.”
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