SIBONGILE MTHABELA
On Sunday 24 July, the Tuks women soccer teams took part in a pre-season tournament held at LC de Villers soccer grounds. The tournament delivered mixed results for Tuks as Tuks Sasol won 1-0 against UJ and Tuks Absa lost 4-0 to TUT. The tournament was crucial for the preparation of the teams for the upcoming league starting in three weeks. One team was missing from the tournament as a team from Limpopo pulled out of the tournament the night before.
The first match was between Tuks Sasol and UJ. The game got off to a slow start as the match was swinging from one end to the other. After 15 minutes the game gained momentum as the two teams became increasingly focused. Despite this, both teams were still having great difficulty in scoring but Tuks eventually gained the lead when striker Jade Parreira slipped in a goal in the 20th minute of the game. Soon after that Tuks jersey number 16 missed a great scoring opportunity. The game went into half time with Tuks leading 1-0.
Tuks came back into the 2nd half with more energy and focus: they made several goal attempts within just a few minutes in the game but the UJ goalkeeper was on point with her great saves. UJ also upped their game but the Tuks defence created a tough barrier in the goal third. The game ended with Tuks winning 1-0.
The second match was Tuks Absa against TUT and from the very beginning of this match TUT gained the upper hand. Within just 12 minutes of the game, TUT was awarded a penalty but failed to utilise the scoring opportunity. Despite that setback, TUT stepped up their game and scored the opening goal 15 minutes in the game and three minutes after that they slipped in another goal.
Jersey number 11 from TUT scored an exquisite free kick goal from the 22nd yard. During the second half TUT again scored a goal, resulting in the final score of 4-0 to TUT. The final match of the tournament was UJ against TUT and the final score was 3-2 to TUT.
The tournament gave the fans a sneak preview of what to expect in the upcoming league and the players got a feel of what they will be up against.
