STAFF REPORTER
Tuks were crowned Varsity Football Challenge champions after beating Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) 4-1 at the Tuks Stadium on Monday night.
Tuks scored two goals in each half, with NMMU’s consolation goal which came after the break.
Tuks came into the final having won five of their previous games. NMMU were the only unbeaten team in the tournament.
Tuks dominated ball possession in the opening moments of the game but they almost conceded an own goal in the 11th minute. Tuks’ Kenneth Matlala’s clearance header narrowly missed the far post when he tried to clear a free kick from NMMU’s Lukhanyo Ramseni.
Tuks scored their first goal just after the 20-minute mark. Mosa Sesele’s corner kick found Lawrence Ntshwane who headed the ball past NMMU goalkeeper Lindsay Jennings to make the score 1-0.
NNMU missed an equalising opportunity in the 36th minute. Claudius Ray Sagandira played the ball to an unmarked Rasmeni, whose shot from the 18-yard box went inches wide.
Eight minutes later, Claudio Barreiro scored Tuks’ second goal and Tuks went into the break 2-0.
After the restart, NMMU played in Tuks’ half in search of a goal. Tuks created counterattacking opportunities and scored their third goal in the 71st minute. Mbongeni Masilela scored this goal.
NMMU scored their only goal through Kieran Peterson in the 78th minute. The goal came after Leroy van Rensburg struck from the 18-yard box. After Tuks goalkeeper Tristyn Coetsee blocked a shot from Leroy van Rensburg, Tuks defender Nicholas Killas’s clearance shot found Peterson, who tapped the ball into the unguarded net.
NMMU started to show a sense of urgency in their attack as they searched for a second goal. Tuks’ defensive line denied NMMU a second goal.
Masilela scored his brace in stoppage time when he had NMMU defence beaten to steer the shot past Jennings, 4-1. The victory saw Tuks crowned as the 2013 Varsity Football Challenge champions in the inaugural year of the competition.
