UP-Tuks claimed their first win of the 2017 edition of Varsity Football when they thumped a 10-man Wits 4-0 in Round Five with central midfielder Claudio de Almeida opening the scoring with a sublime free kick.
De Almeida’s effort had Cristiano Ronaldo written all over it as he curved the ball around the defence to find the back of the net. He states that although he puts in many hours on the practice field, scoring from a free kick during a match is a completely different ball game.
“I have practiced that exact set piece more times than I can count but during a match it hardly pays off,” said the third-year BComm Business Management student. “To be completely honest, scoring like that is a feeling. In fact, Pierre Kok told me to take the kick because he felt I could get it in. It is that sort of belief in your ability that enables you to score a goal like that.”
De Almeida’s free kick vs Wits:
De Almeida, who finished school at Marian College in Johannesburg, is competing in his third Varsity Football tournament and believes that the win against Wits was the spark UP-Tuks needed.
“We needed a solid win after our slow start this year so beating Wits did us a world of good ahead of our away match against UFH,” said the 24-year-old.
UP-Tuks have a match in hand after a bye week two weeks ago and will play against the University of Fort Hare next Monday. The last time these two teams met, UP-Tuks thrashed UFH 9-1 and De Almeida warned against complacency.
“UFH have not had the greatest of seasons so far but they are still a quality team with quality players. We cannot afford to underestimate them as we need to secure as many points from our remaining three matches if we want to contest the semi-finals,” said De Almeida.
UP-Tuks will face UFH on Monday, 4 September at the Davidson Stadium in Alice. Kick-off is scheduled for 18:30.
By Dan Lombard
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