Thanks to a proverbial captain’s innings by Tuks’ captain, Blessing Mabasa, Wednesday’s Pretoria derby in the Varsity football tournament finally ended in a 1-all draw.

Mabasa ticked every box of what it takes to be a good captain. He scored his team’s only goal and he was also brilliant on defence. It was as if he could anticipate what was going to happen before it happened. That is what led to him getting the player of the match award.

Some might argue that Tuks can only blame themselves for lapse of concentration during the dying minutes of the game. But for now, Mabasa is happy with the outcome.

“I think it was a good game of football. The feeling was good being nervous before the game and using that nervousness to be excited and play my heart out to make sure the team defends well at all costs. I really enjoy playing competitive games. They determine whether you are a player who dies when the pressure is on or who thrives and play to your fullest potential,” said the centre-back.

Mabasa describes himself as a forever student of football.

“I am continuously watching videos, analysing what the players do. I also want to learn about the team’s various tactics. Finally, the challenge is to apply what I have learned on the field,” he remarked.

Tuks’s head coach, Nicholas Stothard, said it was good for him to get his Varsity Tournament coaching debut out of the way against a big rival like TUT.

He was not the only one to make his debut. In the Tuks starting line-up, seven players played Varsity football for the first time. In addition, two of the substitutes also made their debut.

“I thought we were the better team. We created the majority of the chances. And I don’t believe TUT tested us too much. Obviously, we have had a bit of a lapse in concentration in the end, and we were punished,” Stothard said.

He also remarked that he is excited to see the team grow within the tournament and he believe that Tuks will peak at the right moment.

“I am confident that all those chances we had yesterday will, on another day, go in,” he commented.

Tuks is playing Kovsies from Bloemfontein on Friday at 16:00. Stothard predicts that it is going to be another tough encounter.

“The aim will definitely be to convert our chances and stay alert for 90 minutes even if the opposition is not really testing us,” the coach concluded.

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