The UCT Ikey Warriors’ 0-6 loss to log-leaders NWU was a massive blow for the team, moving them into bottom position on the Varsity Football log.
The players do not take the loss lightly, and will use it as an opportunity to rebuild and move forward positively.
UCT striker Louis-Roman Moussi Sopp, who was given a red card during the game for his reaction to a dangerous tackle, expressed his disappointment with the loss.
“I was shocked when we conceded the first two goals,” he said. “I think we started pretty well upfront. We knew they were going to try and score an early goal, and that we had to fight hard to contain them.”
“But we failed to do that, and got punished,” he added.
The Cameroonian was outwardly bitter about the match, and accepted his role in the defeat.
Looking forward, he also spoke about what he thinks the team will do to bounce back.
“We will keep believing and work very hard to win our last three games. We can still qualify for the semifinals. We believe we can still make a turnaround, but our actions have to prove it,” he said.
Ikeys captain Gregg Bryer also gave his input after the game, speaking about what he believes went wrong.
“It’s hard to pin-point exactly what it was that went wrong in such a defeat, but obviously a lot went wrong on the field,” he said.
Much like his teammate, the skipper is looking ahead.
“Now we have to go back to the drawing board and improve our game as this can’t happen again. We, as a team, need to put our hands up and admit that that was nothing short of a poor performance and pick it up for next week,” he said.
The team next come up against UJ on Monday, August 18.
By Megan Kinnaird
