BBK’s Pick of the Week: Round Two

Table-toppers and and Tail-enders

NORTH-WEST University Mafikeng has plenty of time to right the wrongs of their porous as a sieve rearguard. Their fixture against Wits University has been postponed. Why?

“Because three of Wits’ players,” explains NWU-Mafikeng assistant coach Ayodeji Ojo “have been selected for the national university squad. As a result of that, our game has been postponed.”

Hallelujah! The break is a blessing in disguise for Amos Xabanisa’s men, who buried the memory of their humiliating 6-2 defeat by UJ with a 3-2 thumping of tail-enders University of Fort Hare on Monday.

A blessing because although they welcomed the victory — Sandile Mbatha, Katlego Banda and Sipho Mateis scored the goals — it did little to disguise their deep defensive deficiencies. They have conceded eight goals in two matches, a statistic that suggests their defence has more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. The time out will be used to focus on plugging the gaps at the back.

“Even a layman can see that we have a big problem there. We are a strong team in terms of attack, no doubt. But now we have ample time to correct the defensive errors,” says Ojo. “In the first game against UJ, we played well and were not disappointed with the performance. We were only embarrassed by the 6-2 scoreline. It was quite a flattering result for UJ. The good thing is that we now have lots of time to correct all the mistakes.

“After getting our first victory, the sky is the limit. It’s unfortunate our win against University of Fort Hare was not televised. We had so many chances.”

Newbies Fort Hare must shape up or ship out. The bottom dwellers have suffered two losses on the trot. The boys from the Eastern Cape institution – that counts Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, Oliver Reginald Tambo and Robert Gabriel Mugabe among its alumni – served up a much improved showing compared to the pedestrian performance from their maiden match. They even got their first goals of the campaign through Olwethu Bless and Zondani Bathandwa.

Star of the Week
LEAGUE-WINNING teams are largely dependent on a dependable last line of defence. In Dumisani Msibi, Tshwane University of Technology have a cool character with a safe pair of hands and more. In the lad from Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, they also have a generous man who understands that TEAM is short for Together Everyone Achieves More.

The cool character’s shot-stopping heroics propelled TUT to the top courtesy of a Jacob Hlalele solitary goal, and not one to hog glory for himself, Msibi vowed to share his R2000 FNB Man-of-the-Match prize money with his teammates.

Perched pretty on the summit of the Varsity Football standings following two wins from two rounds, TUT will hope 21-year-old Msibi will continue his fine form when they host University of Fort Hare at TUT Stadium on Monday (19:00 kickoff, SuperSport 4).

The former national under-20 skipper was solid as a rock when his team soaked relentless pressure as two-time champions UP-TUKS threw everything but the kitchen sink at them.

Not only is he more stubborn than a mule between the sticks, he also has a good head on his shoulders, with his studies as second year Sports Management student progressing pleasingly.

Poster of the Week
Varsity Football spectators are getting really creative with their posters and their meme game is strong, as we’ve seen in both rounds so far. This week a group of TUT fans were in fine form. From next Monday’s fixture, we’ll be on the lookout for the best poster fans can come up with. Tweet in a picture of you and your fellow fans at the match with your poster and you could win an official Varsity Sports beanie and Iyachesa hot sauce.