In spite of bowing out of the Varsity Football competition with a hiding, University of Free State have not disgraced themselves in the tournament.
Coach Godfrey Tenoff put on a brave face after watching his side thumped 4-0 by pre-tournament favourites Tuks at Shimla Park in Bloemfontein on Monday night.
Tenoff decided to dwell on the positives and praised his team for giving their all in their past five matches. UFS have two games still to play but they will play for nothing but pride.
Tenoff admitted that his team were played off the park against an experienced, organised and star studded Tuks side.
He said: “We came up against a team with class and they knew how to exploit our weakness they played to their strength and got a deserved victory.
Tenoff said that he and his team have learned some valuable lessons in the inaugural Varsity Football tournament.
“We needed a proper preparation time and we need a better pitch and experienced players. What I learned is that teams are better prepared and they come up with a good plan against us,” he said.
He endured a difficult night as the home side supporters hauled insults and threw vuvuzelas and objects into the pitch as they voiced their frustrations at UFS. Some started strolling out of the stadium the moment they conceded a third goal. But Tenoff shares their frustrations and says that if he was in their shoes he would have reacted in the same manner.
“Look I take the criticism as warning and also for myself as a motivation we have to be better than this as this university wants a winning team. I want to put a winning team on the field. These supporters are disappointed but not as hurting as I am at the moment,” he explained.
Tuks are edging closer to the semifinals and coach Evangelos Vellios says they are quietly going about their business.
“I believe that we are capable of winning the tournament. We are peaking at the right time and we are full of confidence we want to go on a cruise in the remaining two games,” he said.
See times and channels for Varsity Football replays and live slots on SuperSport here http://www.old.varsitysportssa.com/varsity-football-supersport-slots/
By Charles Baloyi
