UP-Tuks skipper Kabelo Ramongane has revealed his team’s secret of how they became the inaugural Varsity Football champions.
The midfielder, who led his team to the title in front of their home fans by humiliating NMMU 4-1, was over the moon with the win.
The relieved Ramongane said that lifting the trophy felt like a big burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Tuks were embarrassed 4-1 by TUT in their Tshwane derby on the opening day, but they recovered from their shaky start to become the first team to win the tournament.
The skipper said that it is not how you start but how you finish.
He explained: “We knew that we were going to win it from the beginning irrespective of our bad start. Let me tell you our secret. We peaked at the right time.
“When you play football especially in big tournaments like this one, you must peak at the right time. Other teams peaked too early and towards the end of the tournament they lost their momentum and that’s where we came in and took full advantage.
“We started slowly but got stronger to demolish every team that stood on our path of making history,” he added.
The signs were there that the trophy was for Tuks to lose when they turned the tables by grinding out a 1-0 victory away to NWU to secure a home semifinal.
They also stepped up to the plate in that semifinal to defeat NWU again to book the home final. In more ways than one, half of the job had already been done with the two massive wins over their biggest rivals, who were tipped to win the tournament.
“Getting positive results against NWU was the turning point, the final was just a formality. We didn’t have concerns in the final. Did we play like a team that had concerns? Just look at the score-line and you will get all your answers. We had a game plan and we stuck by it. We just know how to win games especially the big ones,” said Ramongane.
The BIS multi-media student, who is doing his final year, said leading Tuks to glory was his biggest highlight.
“I’m proud of the team that I led into the history books. It’s a feeling that I will never forget and hopefully I will play in the professional football league in the near future,” he said.
By Charles Baloyi – Sports writer Daily Sun and Sunday Sun
