JVW FC is one of two teams undefeated in the 2022 Hollywoodbets Super League after four matches played.
The Bedfordview-based side kicked off this season’s campaign by sending a message of intention with a dominant 10-2 win over Richmond Ladies.
Ma-Indies was next in the firing line as they were defeated 2-0 at home in Giyani. Golden Ladies and Durban Ladies suffered the same fate as they were not the receiving end of 3-0 drubbings.
Despite a great start, head coach Mahama Musah Arthur, who was appointed in the off-season, says they must not get too excited as it is still early days.
“We cannot afford to be carried away because we know there are a lot of good teams in the league. Who would have thought that Durban Ladies would come here and give us a match like they did? I told my players that this game is behind us, so we are going to continue with our work and look ahead. What I’m trying to do is to put in their minds that you don’t get big headed, don’t get over yourself because the next games are going to be even harder,” said coach Arthur after the clash against Durban Ladies.
The warning comes after the Blue Diamonds were made to sweat before getting all three points against the coastal side.
After going a goal down at the break, the visitors came back from the dressing room the stronger of the two and gave the hosts a scare with some great attacking moments. Had it not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Yolula Tsawe, it would have been a different story.
“I must give credit to Durban Ladies, I didn’t expect they will come at us like that. And this is good for South African women’s football as this match was amazing to watch. My players showed character and really fought hard to get victory. Today was a clear indication of what I have been telling them: sometimes we must suffer for us to get positive results, and this match was a perfect example where we really suffered and sucked the win out of the opposition, so I’m very happy with the result,” added coach Arthur.
Not only have the Blue Diamonds been prolific in front of goal with 18 strikes in four games, but it is in defence where they have stood out – conceding two goals in the process.
“We’ve been working very hard since pre-season, especially in terms of defensive organization. We have to make sure that first we start every team play from the back – and once we are able to organize our back properly and our defensive shape is right, then we know we have a good shape going forward. We have been focussing on things like when we don’t have the ball, we all drop back, and everyone becomes a defender. That’s what we tried to do today (against Durban Ladies) – it is very difficult to do but we managed,” said coach Arthur.
In their next assignment, JVW will be away to newcomers City Lads Ladies on Sunday, 15 May. This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
Judging by their recent results – the Eastern Cape outfit is yet to win a match this season – these may just be more points in the back for the Blue Diamonds. But coach Arthur is cautious in his approach.
“We don’t want to focus too much on the opposition, but rather on ourselves and what we need to do. We are going to go through the video of the previous match and see what we can improve – which moments we were not good at, how did we recover when we lost the ball – and fix all those things. And if we can do our homework well, I believe we will come out on top,” concluded coach Arthur.
Kick off between JVW and City Lads is at 13h00.
By Matlhomola Morake
