UJ relish Varsity Football semi-final
JOBURG – Uj football team turns on the heat leading to the knock-out satges of the Varsity Football.
The University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) football team is not concerned that its Varsity Football semi-final clash with Central University of Technology (Cut) will be played in Bloemfontein on 8 September.
At one stage, after seemingly in danger of not making the semi-finals, UJ produced a strong finish at the league phase of the competition, winning its last two games.
That pushed them to 11 points for third place on the log, just one point behind Cut and ahead of NWU-Mafikeng on goal difference. Tshwane
University of Technology (Tut) topped the log on 17 points.
UJ soccer manager, Joel Kgokong acknowledged that Cut would be a difficult proposition, but said his team would come out with all guns blazing. “To be honest, I prefer away-matches; the benefits are that all the boys will be in camp together to create a good team spirit,” he said. “When we play at home it is different because some players are in residence while others are at home, and we only get together for the pre-match meal. This year we had our best results when we played away; we weren’t so good at home.”
UJ started the season in style with a 6–2 away win over North West University Mafikeng and they also beat Fort Hare 4–2 away, to clinch a spot in the top four.
Although they beat Wits in their penultimate fixture, other home games saw them lose 3–0 to UP-Tuks and draw 0–0 with Cut. Kgokong said after the team finished eighth in the University Sport South Africa (Ussa) tournament in July, they knew they would have a tough challenge in the Varsity Football competition.
“We are happy with the way things turned out, but we had to put in extra effort to make the semis. We needed to keep ourselves grounded because the other teams are also in it to win it,” he smiled.
He added they first focused on the goal of making the semi-finals. “Now that we’ve achieved that, the focus is on making the final. The boys have to go out and get it, while management will make sure we help them get there.”
Kgokong said they had often spoken of the importance of doing well and what it meant for the varsity. “The players know it will benefit them, and everyone is behind them. They don’t want to let the university down.”
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