Uphongolo claim victory against Telkom in the penalty shoot-outs

By       : Avumile Seela

Email  :avumilemofasa@gmail.com

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Uphongolo attacking Telkom Fc, Picture by Avumile Seela

Uphongolo FC claimed their win against Telkom FC on the Students Residence Spring tournament, at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Soshanguve North Campus, on the 16^th September 2023, Saturday afternoon.

Uphongolo Fc successfully claimed a spot in the semifinals on the Students Residence Spring tournament after beating Telkom Fc 5-3 on penalties, as it was a goalless match. Uphongolo Fc wanted to redeem themselves from their recent loss against TCE2 FC, as they only managed to secure 2 wins from four matches

The match’s first promising attack came in the 11th minute of the game through the courtesy of Uphongolo Fc captain Sphamandla Khumalo, but unfortunately the attack was ruled offside. Telkom FC dominated and controlled the first half of the match, securing 9 shots on target.

“Not quite pleasing results from our side but I’m glad the boys have improved a lot as we had many opportunities created but unfortunately, we couldn’t score. And we managed to keep them to a goalless draw unlike last time they defeated us 1-0 on our friendly match”, said Telkom Fc coach, Chico Bande.

The Uphongolo side never set back; tables suddenly turned while Telkom FC was still in their comfort zone, Uphongolo created many goal scoring opportunities, but the team couldn’t finalize the attack on the final third.

The home team continued to dominate the second half, securing an average ball possession of 60% against 40% of Telkom Fc. Both teams started to play aggressively towards each other in the dying minutes of the game, and only player from the Telkom side was reported injured.

“The game was great as it was balanced, we came with the same spirit as a team and we wanted to win this game, but in the first minutes of the game the team was down and they needed support from us, and the substitutes also contributed in to the game”, said the Upongolo coach, Lindokuhle Dlamini

Uphongolo Fc will go head-to-head against in the semifinals of the Students Residence Spring tournament.