Tuks made a welcome return to Varsity football by beating VUT 1–0 last night.
Coach Nicholas Stothard could be forgiven if he briefly thought last night, “I love it when a plan comes together”. He wanted his “Boys” to start the campaign on a winning note to let the other teams know that Tuks is back.
But Stothard also believes that what is done is done. The focus is now on the next game, playing CUT away next Thursday. One game at a time is his motto.
Tuks was made to work for last night’s victory. It was only in the 85th minute that the “Razor”, Raymond Matlamela, got to score the winning goal. His heroics led to him being the Player of the Match.
Jayden van der Walt (goalkeeper), who made his debut for Tuks, credited the team’s victory to a solid performance.
“There weren’t any shaky moments defensively. In the midfield, we were effective. Upfront, when we needed the goal, The goal came. We worked for it. What impressed me a lot was how well we played throughout the game and how we dominated the game. We stuck to our game plan. Getting three points at a clean sheet was a perfect start to the campaign.”
As to the winning goal being so late in the game, Van der Walt said they were never worried about the outcome as a team.
“Our coaches always tell us to have patience throughout the game. There’s no need to force anything. No need to rush anything. If we can just be patient and stick to the game plan, goals will come, and the goal will come.”
The 19-year-old Van der Walt was signed by AmaTuks at the end of last year after he was released by Orlando Pirates. As a student, he is pursuing a higher certificate in sports science.
According to Van der Walt, he has always been passionate about football. It could not be helped as his dad, Ales, was a keen footballer, playing as a goalkeeper. So, playing goalkeeper is the continuance of a family tradition.
“The most important thing I have learned from my dad is that you have to be prepared for mistakes to happen because mistakes will happen. That’s part of the game. Being mentally prepared makes it easy to recover from a mistake. It doesn’t play in your mind.”
As to his best traits as a keeper, Van der Walt said, “I think my long kicking is it. It brings an extra dimension to the team, as well as my shot-stopping. I can pull off critical saves when it matters. I need to work on my footwork, whether on the ball or movement-wise.”