The two Free State university men’s football teams fell by the wayside in this year’s Varsity Football championship as they faded at the critical phase of the competition.
As the going got tough, the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, were unable to go the distance.
Both failed to reach the semifinal, which will be contested by the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), defending champions, the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the University of Johannesburg (UJ), and North-West University (NWU) on Thursday.
The UFS lads had a chance to secure a slot in the top four in their last fixture, a derby against the CUT played last Thursday, 7 September, in Bloemfontein.
However, results favoured other clubs in the last round of the matches.
The Kovsie boys had a realistic chance to secure a semifinal berth if they won the match against UJ, who won 3 – 0. The 4 – 1 win over hometown boys CUT would have guaranteed a semifinal slot.
In this year’s season, the CUT failed to impress despite a positive start upon returning to the competition.
The CUT finished the tournament without a win, managing to collect just two points in lacklustre matches they drew against the University Fort Hare (UFH) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
The CUT side finished second from the bottom and UFH in the basement, with 2 points each.
As a finalist in last season’s Varsity Football tournament, the Kovsie men’s team were hoping for another successful season under their illustrious coach Tebogo Motsamai.
However, it is back to the drawing board for both local university teams, having underperformed this season.
“We were hopeful to improve, but things did not work accordingly,” said Motsamai.
“However, I am confident that in the forthcoming season we will be far better and are going to impact in the competition.
“We are guaranteed to retain most of the players who I believe will be ready with experience gained this year.”
