A total of 10 goals were scored in Round 1 of Varsity Football 2019, and UFS’s Dylan O’Brien’s performance suggests that he will be among the Golden Boot contenders throughout the tournament.
O’Brien is the only player in the UFS squad who has played in the tournament before, and showed that he had unfinished business on Thursday afternoon, against UWC. The 24-year-old, currently doing his second year of a Social Science degree (majoring in Industrial Psychology), had mixed fortunes back in 2014 – he started four of UFS’s round robin matches, and the lost semi-final against UJ, but failed to score.
It took just 39 minutes for him to rectify that on Thursday, when he smartly buried a free-kick low past the wall and into the net – evading Ryan Ramandh’s outstretched right arm. O’Brien rightfully celebrated wildly, for breaking his duck and playing the decisive part in Kovsies’ first Varsity Football goal in five years.
A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE: Sky’s the limit for O’Brien
Then, just after the hour mark, the Durban-born striker doubled his – and his team’s – tally. Having latched onto a smart through-ball, O’Brien was about to set himself to shoot in the box when Luke Vester bundled him over for a clear and obvious penalty. He then dusted himself off and smartly buried the spot-kick, with his left foot this time, past Ramandh’s left arm.
Not long after, O’Brien attempted a lob on Ramandh but a hat-trick it was not to be. That said, he has clearly shown that he has worked on the art of finishing in the intervening four years and has marked himself as the man to chase in the Golden Boot race.
O’Brien also claimed both the FNB Player of the Match and MTN Pulse Moment of Brilliance awards for his two-goal efforts and few will bet on those being the only time he is so honoured in 2019.
TOP GOALSCORERS (after Round 1)
2 – Dylan O’Brien (UFS)
1 – Thabo Lesibe (UFS), Luke Vester (UWC), Mogau Mphahlele (TUT), Keegan Faver (UJ), Tshepiso Mahlangu, Israel Matshane (both NWU), Nkosinathi Sibeko (UKZN), Own Goal [Gauta Mokati (UFS)]
by Carlo Jonkerman
