The Tuks football team is with their back against the wall after losing 2-1 to UKZN last week. Tuks will have to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat to stand any chance of playing in the Varsity Tournament’s semi-finals.

Only Kovsies and UJ, who both have 13 points after six games, are guaranteed to contest the playoffs. TUT with 11 points and Tuks and Northwest, both 9 points, will have to battle it out for the remaining two spots.

TUT plays Kovsies next Thursday. It would be foolish to try and predict who is going to win. Kovsies has consistently been playing good football, losing only once. TUT is, however, one of the most unpredictable teams in the competition. On a good day, they are capable of beating any team. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. If TUT wins, they will play in the semi-finals.

A TUT victory will near end Tuks’ hopes of progressing to the playoffs. On a good day, Tuks ought to beat Wits. Unfortunately, a mere victory will not cut it for Tuks, especially if Northwest wins against VUT. It will leave both teams on 12 points.

Everything is then going to boil down to the goal difference. That will sink Tuks as they have conceded two more goals than they have scored. In theory, Tuks then have to beat Wits 5-0 and hope that Northwest only wins by one goal.

So, the best scenario for Tuks is that Kovsies beat TUT, and Tuks must be victorious against Wits. Kovsies and likely UJ will top the log with both teams on 16 points. Tuks will be on 12, with Northwest possible also on 12. If Northwest loses, TUT will be the fourth team in the playoffs with 11 points.

Tuks have only themselves to blame for the predicament they find themselves in. For most of last night, they played the better football. But to win means, you have to make the most of every scoring opportunity. Tuks did not, UKZN did. That is why they won.

Tuks’ coach, Nicholas Stothard, had no excuses after his team’s defeat.

“We did what we did last week against TUT, but the result was the opposite. It is a lesson for the ‘boys’. Hopefully, they have learned from this. We now need to beat Wits, but there are no guarantees as there are no easy games in Varsity Football. We made things difficult for ourselves,” Stothard concluded.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram