University of Limpopo certainly threw a spanner in the works in their final match when they held Varsity Football log-leaders UJ to an entertaining 1–1 draw at the AW Muller stadium at the Auckland Park Bunting Road Campus.
The Men from Limpopo certainly deserved the draw after they matched their Gauteng counterparts pound for pound in every department.
Head coach Burney Mamphsika said the game went as planned, he said they are satisfied with the result.
He said: “I think the match went according to plan. We contained them very well, we played very well. We used our opportunities, we scored one goal, they used their opportunities and scored one goal.”
“We are satisfied with the outcome, considering that UJ are at the top of the helm. We were regarded as the dark horse [of the match]. We could even see that the UJ coach[Bradley Carnell] was frustrated by our tactics,” said Mamphsika.
He said that they needed a bit of commitment from the middle of the park right through to the strikers in order to win the match. Mamphsika said having a full complement of his squad in the match might have made the biggest difference in his side.
He said having the fans in their throngs made a difference as well, they sang, they danced and cheered their University on.
“The fact that all players were available made a great difference with regards to our UJ game, what hampers our performance at times is the issue of players having to write tests, then they are unavailable,” said Mamphsika.
He said they have learnt a lot from their debut season in Varsity Football which will benefit them in the future.
“It needs hard work, enough preparation, it needs commitment, it needs unity among the team and management, support from both stakeholders.”
He said they intend to qualify for Varsity Football next year, a much better, wiser and improved outfit. He said they will use these lessons learnt to regroup and focus their energies on the qualifying rounds of the USSA games next.
The Mankweng based institution certainly put on a sterling performance on the night and can only build on the lessons they got from the tournament.
Clyde Kgatla who scored his third goal in the tournament, opened the scoring for the Limpopo team in a beautiful free-kick, that sent the stadium in wild raptures as the UL supporters outnumbered the Johannesburg fans on the stands in terms of singing and dancing.
Pholoshi Bapela took home the FNB Man of the match for his scintillating defensive skills in keeping the UJ men at bay. UL Director of Sports and Recreation Kakata Maponyane was at the stadium to give the players words of encouragement.
By Noko Pela
