The University of the Free State has their tails up once again as they prepare to head to Soweto to face the defending champions, the University of Johannesburg in round four of Varsity Football.
Last week, the team from Bloemfontein returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 2-1 over VUT at Shimla Park – and this has boosted the confidence before what they expect to be a tricky clash against the fourth-placed Orange Army.
Kovsies’ midfielder, Ethan Goldstone had an exceptional second-half performance a week ago, and he largely contributed to the brace scored by Sello Diphoko.
Goldstone’s background in football is a somewhat unusual one, as he played hockey at school and rather focussed on his academics to be able to study and play football.
“I don’t come from a traditional football school because my school [St. Andrews] did not offer football as a sport for a while and only re-introduced it in 2021, my matric year,” he told Varsity Football.
“In the absence of football at my school, I opted to play hockey as an extracurricular activity but I did however play football for a development club, Ocean XI, for a few years.
“I was indeed focused on my academics in my final year of High School, it was imperative to excel academically to be able to be selected for my degree of choice – BCom Accounting – which I am enrolled in. The support from my family and friends helped me in my matric year.
“Having the privilege to represent the University in a national tournament is something I don’t take lightly and I value the coach’s trust in my ability.”
The tall midfielder added that their second-half performance has given them the confidence to head to Soweto, where they will be targeting a first away win of the campaign.
“Regarding the game against VUT, it was a difficult clash, very tight in the first half especially,” he explained.
“I was pleased with my second-half performance. I believed it made up for my sub-par first-half performance. I’m also very happy for my fellow teammate Sello who bagged a brace and also for the team who picked up a very important three points as this is tournament football.
“There is a big game coming up this week against UJ. They are the defending champions and we will prepare well as a team. We are hoping to pick up our first points away.
“The team has been preparing well and is ready for the battle against the Orange Army. We are not naive about the difficulty of any of our games, but that isn’t stopping us from going to collect all 3 points.
“A win against UJ will bolster the mood in the camp and will keep us on track towards securing the top four.”
UJ and Kovsies will go head-to-head on Thursday at 19:15 at the UJ Stadium on the Soweto campus. The game will be broadcast live on SuperSport 4.
You can get information on how to get tickets here.
By Morgan Piek.
