Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) coach, Christina Kutumela, has bemoaned lack of confidence as the Achilles heel that led to their downfall against neighbours Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday (22 May 2022).
The Hollywoodbets Super League clash played at Sturrock Park Stadium was touted as one of the biggest matches of the weekend – but things did not go according to plan for TUT.
After a promising start in the opening minutes, they could not keep up and found themselves three nil down half time – they went on to lose the Tshwane Derby 5-1, further confirming the dominance of their across-town rivals.
“To be honest with you I think we did well, it was not a bad performance from us – it is just that we lost hope very early after conceding the second goal. We then dropped our heads and never wanted to move forward, instead we wanted to focus on defending so as not to concede more goals – but it is not that bad, moving forward we know what to do,” said assistant coach Christina Kutumela.
TUT, who finished in second place last season, are not having a start they would have hoped for in the league.
With a match in hand, they are lying in 10th position after five outings – two wins and two draws.
The defeat in the Tshwane Derby was the first of the season and comes at the back of goalless draws.
Kutumela says they have discovered what the challenge is and it is something they are working on.
“It really is a concern, and my concern is not about playing because we know we’ve got good quality players. I think we need to work more in terms of their confidence because if the opposition scores first, we get to lose that confidence in the first half. Then at half time we just need to therefore work on that confidence to try and make them to come back into the game. So, if we can work on their behavior and then I think we will get everything right,” added Kutumela.
“Fortunately, it’s not so much that we need to work more in terms of technicality and everything because the truth is we have good players that can actually win as the league.”
TUT has another tough task ahead of them as they will be hosting log leaders, JVW, who are yet to lose a match.
Last season the Blue Diamonds were victorious 2-0 against TUT in the first-round with second half goals from Gabriela Salgado and Robin Moodaly.
The reverse fixture ended goalless.
2021 Results between TUT and JVW:
25 September 2021
TUT 0 – 0 JVW
23 May 2021
JVW 2 – 0 TUT
(Salgado & Moodaly scored)
TUT Season so far:
Sun, 22 May 2022
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC 5 – 1 TUT FC
Sun, 15 May 2022
TUT FC 0 – 0 Thunderbirds Ladies
Wed, 11 May 2022
TUT FC 0 – 0 Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies FC
Sun, 8 May 2022
Sun, 1 May 2022
By Matlhomola Morake
