The spirit is high in the UWC camp after they broke the “hoodoo” of not winning at home when they downed Varsity Football reigning champions, UP-Tuks, 2-1 at UWC Sports Stadium on Monday.
Although the visitors took an early lead through star midfielder Jeremiah Nkwana’s lobbing shot from the left which beat the home goalkeeper, Reon October, the home side responded after the break when sensational midfielder Tapelo Sixishe came on and scored direct from the corner.
Another substitute Reza Zain Dramat made sure that maximum points remain at home when he hammered the ball home in the 90th minute.
It was the first home win for UWC in four games after they lost 2-1 to Kovsies and drew 2-2 and 1-1 against the University of Johannesburg and the University of Limpopo, respectively.
The victory kept the Bellville-based UWC side at sixth position on the log standings with eight points, two points shy of Tuks, Kovsies and Madibaz who are all on 10 points with one round of matches remaining.
UWC assistant coach Salie Adams says the players are happy about the win over Tuks because they feel they have broken the hoodoo of not winning on home soil.
“We’ve been working on our problems over the past few weeks, including addressing the players’ fear to lose at home and it seems the results are starting to show,” Adams said.
Also, UWC have started well in all their previous home games, scoring first only to lose the momentum and ending up losing or drawing games. Adams says they have also worked on that problem and it was clear when they surpassed Tuks in the second half.
Adams praised his side for managing the adverse conditions well, as they had to battle against the bumpy pitch as well as the wind and rain. His players, he says, have been committed throughout the campaign.
“The spirit is always good and everyone has been putting a lot of effort to being part of the journey.”
UWC will have to maintain their good performance when they take on neighbours from UCT away in a must-win final round match next Monday. The two sides are also meeting in a USSA clash on Wednesday 27 August in what will be a warm-up for the much anticipated Varsity Football game.
By Myolisi Gophe
