The Varsity Football’s fourth edition is not for the feint hearted. Either you swim or sink. This is the current situation in the competition with one round of matches to go before the knockout stages.
The competition is starting to take shape as the men are being separated from the boys. We are heading for a photo finish on what is now dubbed Judgment Monday. Hearts will be broken and there will be tears of joy too. Tournament favourites TUT’s mission of qualifying for the semis and securing that home semi-final has been achieved with flying colours.
Their coach Bushy Moloi can afford to refresh his squad by making wholesale changes in their dead rubber game against holders UWC. TUT have already sealed their spot in the knockout stages with one game to spare. Last year’s beaten finalists can afford to bring in their fringe players to give them some much needed game time. Everything seems to be perfect for TUT, but there is just one problem to worry about. TUT will return to the scene of their last heartbreak. The UWC Sports Stadium is not their favourite. Last year they lost 2-1 to UWC in the final, in the Mother City.
That makes their final round robin game against UWC a grudge match and the boys from Pretoria will want to avenge that painful defeat by all means necessary. It’s not the final and they won’t gain the same measure of revenge if they beat UWC. But a win would eliminate the Cape Town-based University from the competition.
UWC need to win the game at all costs and hope that results go their way in other matches. They are fifth on the log table, trailing UJ, who are above them and Tuks, who are third by a mere point. It’s a perfect time for TUT to play the party poopers and deny the champions a possible place in the semis. This is a great opportunity for them to rub salt into UWC’s wounds. There is lots to play for in the Mother City for both teams.
UJ currently occupy fourth place on the log table and their semi-final hopes are also hanging in the balance. Their 6-2 hiding of NWU-Mafikeng on day one is now a distant memory. The 2014 finalists are heading to the Eastern Cape to play against the whipping boys in this competition – UFH. On paper it should be a walk on the park. This is the team that let in nine goals against Tuks last week and they are low on confidence.
But football is a strange game. UFH, who have nothing to lose and everything to gain against UJ, could pull off a surprise win and eliminate them in the process. UFH cannot afford to disappoint their fans after their heavy defeat last week and the same applies for UJ, as defeat could boot them out. All the matches will be tightly contested as there is just so much at stake. Good luck to all the teams, they will need it because it’s now or never.
By Charles Baloyi – Daily Sun and Sunday Sun sports writer
