The statistics certainly favours UP-Tuks to beat UWC during tomorrow's Varsity Football encounter at the University of Pretoria.

Last year UP-Tuks made sports history by beating UWC for the first time on their home turf. In 2017 UP-Tuks was also victorious against UWC in the game that mattered. The reality, however, is that statistics are mere numbers and can never influence the outcome of any game. 

What does help to win contests are passion and guts.  And of that, there will be no shortage tomorrow as both UP-Tuks and UWC lost last week. Another loss might make it challenging to qualify for the all-important Varsity playoffs.

For the home team supporters, the big unanswered question remains - are they or they are not going to score goals tomorrow? For the past two seasons for some inexplicable reason, the UP-Tuks strikers somehow battle to find the back of the net during the early games. 

The talented 19-year-old UP-Tuks goalkeeper, Giovanni Idi, is optimistic that his teammates won't disappoint. 

"The first game of a Varsity Tournament is always tricky as there is usually such a lot of expectations. Especially when playing at home against TUT. Players tend to get nervous. That lead to mistakes. During training, there was a lot of focus on ensuring our strikers do find the back of the net. I am confident that they will now get into the swing of things," said Giovanni, who impressed when he played for the South African men's under-20 team.

He added that as the goalkeeper he had his own talk with the UP-Tuks strikers.  

"I explained to them that they need to start to convert the goal-scoring opportunities they are creating. If they don't, it is we who play on defence who are under pressure."

Not that Idi mind being tested. That is, after all, why he became a goalkeeper. It is the challenge to try and pre-empt what the opposition strikers are planning on doing that gets his adrenaline pumping.

During last year's Varsity campaign he can rightfully claim to have had the better of the battle to keep the ball from hitting the back of the UP-Tuks net. There were about four or five games, Idi is not quite sure, in which no team was able to score against UP-Tuks. It led to him reaping in postmatch awards. 

"The secret to being a good goalkeeper is not to lose your nerves. It is given that during any given game that at times, you are going to be under pressure. For me, it is important not to overthink things as that clouds your decision making on the field."

Kickoff for tomorrow's game at Tuks is 18:30.