Vusi Zwane and Puleng Maphisa 23 February 2022

VUTFC team

The Vaal University of Technology Football Club (VUT FC) is on a winning streak.   Last weekend it secured the fourth win out of five games in the SAFA Sedibeng regional league, clearly demonstrating that it has kicked off the 2022 campaign on a high note.

The VUT team is currently in second place on the league log. The SAB League is made up of 12 teams from the Vaal Triangle, each vying to take the top two spots that will put them in position to play in the play-offs to qualify for the prestigious provincial ABC Motsepe League. The top two teams in the ABC Motsepe League will then play in the professional Glad Africa League and the top two from that league finally qualify for the South African Professional Soccer League (PSL League).

In its 5th game of the season, on Saturday, 19 February, VUT FC faced-off against Army Shooting Stars in Heidelberg. The team’s strategy and tactics were simple – use the speed of the wingers to run the opponents down on the flanks and then play crosses into the box.

Also, to augment the team’s confidence, it was announced to the team that the Vice Chancellor Prof.  Dan Kgwadi was in attendance and to show appreciation the team displayed a fighting spirit that would ensure the VC is welcomed with a win.

Within a minute of the first stanza the first goal was netted by Mr. Charles Sikhosana, 2nd year Sports Management student. The early goal was an added confidence booster that would prove vital in helping the team’s aggressive attacking style of having their opponents constantly on the backfoot.  Sikhosana proved why he was one of the top three players for VUT FC in the 2021 Varsity Football competition.  In that tournament, he scored fantastic goals in the competition and won the Man of the Match award against University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN).

In last week’s game, the first half ended with no further goals being scored by either team. It was evident at this point that this game was not going to be a walk over for VUT FC. They needed to press forward without much change to the tactical game plan, but only be wary of counterattacks by Shooting Stars FC.  A foul in the eighteen area, against a Shooting Stars player in the 20th minute of the first stanza lead to a penalty for the opponents, levelling the score to one a piece.

The second half began with no early goals being scored by either team but VUT FC’s strategy and tactics led to a second goal in the 60th minute, taking the score to 2-1.  It was banged in by VUT FC’s Thulani Sibisi, 3rd year Marketing student.

Like Charles Sikhosana, Sibisi played well in last year’s Varsity Football tournament by scoring several goals in the tournament and winning the Man of the Match award against University of the Witwatersrand Football Club (WITS FC).

The third and final goal of the game was scored in the 85th minute of the game by Sipho Mokai, 3rd year Industrial Engineering student. The win solidified VUT FC’s strong position in the SAB League.

The team looks set to finish at the top of the log or in second place. The visit by the Vice Chancellor was a huge surprise and was appreciated by the players and Technical team.  It is hoped that the new-found lucky charm, the “VC Magic”, will be extended to other high-level sporting codes.

The next game will take place on Saturday, 26 February, against Meyerton Rangers FC at 11am at the VUT Isak Steyl Stadium.