LISTEN: Wits at the receiving end of yet another stumble in Varsity Cup 2017
JOBURG – Wits gave it their all in their sixth Varsity Football 2017 clash, despite going down 1 – 0 to defending champions and heavy title contenders, Tshwane University of Technology.
Wits were at the receiving end of an unfavourable result, going down 1–0 to reigning Varsity Football champions Tshwane University of Technology (Tut) at the Bidvest Stadium in Johannesburg on 4 September.
The result saw Tut keep a clean sheet in the competition after beating the hosts. Wits missed a number of chances in front of goal after both sides went on the attack early. After the match, Wits head coach, Mark Haskins conceded that his side was not clinical on the night.
Tut was nearly rewarded in the 10th minute but striker Themba Ndlovu’s misdirected strike sailed across the goalmouth.
The hosts knuckled down soon afterwards and nearly made the team from Pretoria pay, but were met by a resistant defence. Wits had another chance to break the stalemate with only minutes remaining in the first half, only for the referee to rule out a promising move into the Tut box offside.
In the second half, the game continued in much the same way, with both teams trading missed chances in front of goal. In the 60th minute, Tut secured a set-piece outside the Wits 18-yard area and the resultant kick by Ndlovu once again sailed over the cross bar.
The Pretoria outfit would eventually have the last say when Keabetswe Mokwena calmly collected a cross in the Wits box from the right and tapped in to break the deadlock 25 minutes from full time.
More chances came and went for the home side and Thabiso Rafanyane’s run down the middle and subsequent shot did little to restore parity for Wits. It was one-way traffic from there as Tut held on for the win to move closer towards a successful defence of their title.
Listen to the full interview with coach Mark Haskins
