Keep your heads up is definitely the motto used by Tuks players in the 2022 Varsity Football edition.

On Thursday, 18 August, Tuks secured a major a two-one Tshwane Derby victory against TUT in Round 5. Courtesy of Tuks goalscorers: Ntokozo Madela and Marco Giuricich. This was the third successive victory for Tuks in the current edition.

According to the Tuks head coach, Nicholas Stothard, the team is slowly peaking and results will eventually come.

"One thing I have learned is to take nothing for granted in the Varsity Football. There is never such a thing as an easy game. Still, I am confident that Tuks will give a good account of themselves. Our training has been going well, and the guys are motivated.

"It helps that the core of last year's team is still playing. Our partnership deal with Mamelodi Sundowns means we have a few exciting players on loan. They are all Tuks students. One of them is the highly-rated Ofentse Mashiane."

Stothard is a firm believer in the principle that a team which does not concede goals cannot lose. But one of the biggest frustrations over the last four years is how the Tuks players tend to never grab most of the goal scoring opportunities, often at vital times.

"Ultimately, I like to keep it tight at the back. Be defensively disciplined, but I have changed our game plan slightly. When we have the ball, I want the players to make the most of every opportunity. So hopefully, we are going to score more from free-flowing play.

"It seems as if the players are starting to master doing so. In the buildup to the Varsity Tournament, we played eight games and scored roundabout 25 goals."

Stothard believes the lack of a striker that wins matches is not unique to Tuks. 

"As far as I am concerned, it is a South African football problem. We are not coaching strikers to become matchwinners. The last time we had outstanding strikers was in the nineties."

The Tuks defender, Goitseone Phasha, was named Player of the Match against TUT. He is currently studying Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc).

Up next, Tuks will face UKZN on Thursday, 25 August. The kick-off time is 5pm. Tickets are avaliable on www.howler.co.za