Three's The Magic Number
Varsity Football's Round Three action produced 10 goals but the number three held plenty of significance at the conclusion of the three Monday night matches.
Early pace setters TUT claimed their third victory in as many games when they edged Fort Hare 2-1 in Pretoria to hand the Alice side their third loss of the competition.
Defending champions UWC had to settle for their third consecutive draw, when they were held 2-2 by CUT at the UWC Stadium.
Earlier, UP-Tuks put in a fine second half performance to score three second half goals to bag the much needed three points in Soweto and hand UJ their first defeat of the campaign.
We look at all the Round Three action!
UJ 0-3 UP-Tuks
UP-Tuks dominated the opening quarter and carved out numerous half-chances but were unavailable to produce the final tough. The best chance of the period came in the eighth minute when #5 failed to find the target from the six-yard box and watched his header fly over the bar.
The half became a stop-start affair from that point as the home side's players spent more time on the ground than on their feet. The duo of Nicholas Killas and Tiago da Serra were running the show in the midfield for Tuks while UJ's Samuel Warder did his best to keep his side going.
Something needed to happen to bring the match to life and it came in the form of three Tuks goals in 13 minutes. First, De Serra riffled home a shot in the 53rd minute before Mbongeni Masilela showed excellent strength and composure to find the back of the net in the 60th minute.
The match was over as a contest six minutes later when Mogau Khwinana pounced on a long ball by goal keeper Dylan Patterson and fired home from the edge of the box. The visitors took their foot off the gas from that point to cruise to the three points.
UWC 2-2 CUT
CUT took the game to the defending champions in the opening quarter and could have had an early lead had it not been for two splendid Brent Layman saves in the UWC goal. Karabo Mojafi and Orapeleng Manopole saw their efforts well saved by the shot stopper.
UWC took the lead against the run of play in the 26th minute when their midfield maestro Thulani Nkosi's neat flick fell nicely for captain Josh Silent, who fired home. They could have doubled their lead before the break but lacked the composure to beat CUT's Zolani Lingunya.
The home side were not having things their own way and saw their defence being breached in the 66th minute by Katlego Motaung. CUT's joy was short lived though as Silent grabbed a brace two minutes later to restore UWC's lead.
With seven minutes left, CUT got themselves back on level terms when Motaung took full advantage of some poor defending to grab a brace of his own. There was to be no late winner as the sides had to settle for a draw.
TUT 2-1 UFH
The home side dominated from the outset but Fort Hare's high defensive line worked wonders as TUT were caught offside on numerous occasions. UFH grew in confidence and took the lead in the 33rd minute when Supersport United's Dumisani Msibi misjudged a long ball that allowed Andile Batyi to slot the ball home.
TUT came back fighting and their pressure paid off in the 41st minute when Phakamani Mangona was caught in no man's land and Sipho Sibiya's neat header found the back of the net to level matters.
The home side came out firing in the second half and claimed the lead in the 48th minute when a Katlego Kgetjepe cross was headed home by an unmarked Jacob Hlalele. Kgetjepe and Thabang Motau were running the show down the flanks as they began to peg UFH in their half.
TUT could have ended the match as a contest in the 88th minute when Tumelo Mowa was brought down in the box. Msibi stepped up to take the penalty but pulled his effort wide. That miss did not come back to haunt them though as they held on and stretched their lead at the top of the table.
After watching Carling Black Label cup between the two Soweto giants, one can predict a bright future ahead for both teams.
In the Khosi side, I was impressed with Khotso Moleko, after the former Celtic fullback was playing second string behind Pa Gaxa. But on Saturday he proved to be ready to own that position. Komphela introduced some of the new signings in the second half, with the likes of Khumalo, Letlotlo, Mphahlele and the man who scored the second goal for Chiefs, Lewis Macha.
Pirates lost the game and struggled a lot in the middle of the park, where Katsande and Ekstein bossed for the whole game, while Sarr and Manyisa fail to keep possession and couldn’t create chances for their strikers. But the new signings, Riyaad Norodien and Bernard Morrison were very impressive. Although the engine is the problem at Pirates and Sangweni can be the solution.
The Chippa United man could cost way less than Steven Pienaar, and they need to beef up that defensive midfield if they are to challenge for honours.
Are you happy with what you saw on Saturday, with Macha, Morrison, and Norodien? Which departments do you think need to be reinforced?
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