BUSHY Moloi is not the type that beats about the bush. His clarity of mind coupled with a calm articulation of his vision, hammers home the reason why Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) are atop the Varsity Football league.
Defeat is a foreign language to these folks: they remain unbeaten after four rounds of football — three wins and a draw. And Moloi is adamant his side is on the summit to stay.
Moloi is under no illusion that TUT’s next three matches, starting with a trip to North West University-Mafikeng and back-to-back home encounters against Central University of Technology (CUT) and University of Fort Hare (UFH) — will be walks in the park.
Following the 1-1 draw with the University of Johannesburg on Monday, Moloi is hell-bent on returning to winning ways against NWU-Mafikeng tomorrow.
“Next we are going to Mafikeng to win, the three points are important for us. We’ll come back and get another three points from CUT. Then we will frustrate UFH,” he says.
TUT want to stay at the summit until the semi-finals, where number one will play four and two take on three.
But, anyone armed with a lethal weapon like Jacob Hlalele can be forgiven for coming across with an air of arrogance. In Hlalele TUT boasts a one-game, one-goal mean machine.
“Jacob is not a striker, he is a central attacking midfielder,” Moloi explains “but he likes scoring goals. As coaches it is part of our responsibility to unlock the potential of our players. So I thought let me not close him down in a place that may frustrate him. He is able to jump and head, fight for the ball and is able to take shots at goal. He’s one of the best players we have produced.”
There are other guns in Moloi’s armoury that compliment the lethal frontman.
“Take Katlego Kgetjepe, for example. He is a striker who is allowing Jacob the stage to shine. His movement off the ball creates a lot of space for Jacob to exploit. He creates a lot of opportunity for him. There’s also Collin Ribabu, he is a marvel to watch and a
nerve centre of our attacks,” says Moloi.
The pain of failing at the final hurdle last season forced Moloi and his brains trust on the bench to hatch new strategies. The gospel according to Moloi is that the new approach is the fuel fanning the fire for a thus far error-free campaign.
“After losing the final, we had to develop a way to beat opponents especially when we play away games.
“We came with a strategy influenced by a lot of dynamics such as the Dutch system. When the Dutch play you see that the ball doesn’t go back too often. We’ve got that part right,” explains Moloi. “What we are still battling with is to keep possession. And if we can master that, we will be unbeatable.
“It is down to maturity from the technical team. We learned the hard way last year. Together with my assistant coaches and other technical members, we had to come up with a plan to be successful.”
Moloi’s other secret is that “I’ve got serious mentors that are playing a huge role in guiding me, people who are very intelligent, very important to me and to South African football.” They called on the expertise of former Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza last season. “His experience assisted us a lot. I came with the tactics he gave us a bit of enlightenment.”
He is careful for the mistakes of last season no to be repeated.
“We played well but one dynamic let us down, the approach we had from the players’ side. A lot of them wanted professional contracts and because we were in the final, they wanted to sell themselves more than making the team tick. That destabilised us. This time we decided to be more arrogant to push our opponents extremely hard and play for the team. No individuals.”
Watch out NWU-Mafikeng!
Who is Moloi?
The 38-year-old describes himself as “a religious, spiritual person, who spends time at church” away from football. He attends the International Pentecost Holiness Church (IPHC).
“I played in the Bobsol (now defunct Bophuthatswana Soccer League) for Sun City. I played for only one season and only during school holidays. I moved to Pretoria where I played for Technikon Pretoria.
“I was coached by Floyd Mbele (Orlando Pirates administrative manager) who raised me to be a better athlete. I played in the Gauteng Ussa team. I went for trials at SuperSport United invited by the late Thomas Madigage and Jerry Warie. Bruce Grobelaar wanted to have me in the team but I opted to be employed by the university.
“My father was very angry with me. He wanted his son to at least play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL). He could not speak to me for almost a year. I moved into a different direction. I am a manager in the resident in TUT. I can play a bigger role in the PSL as a coach in future.
“In 2003 when I met Themba Mnguni, Madigage, Pitso Mosimane, my role model. They’ve all played an influential part in my football life.”
Though it is still halfway mark, Moloi is a man on a mission to finally deliver.
When they first participated in Varsity Football in 2013, TUT were knocked out in the semifinal after topping the table.
They didn’t qualify in 2014. Last year they lost to UWC in the final.
By Bareng-Batho Kortjaas (BBK)
Sports Editor, Sunday Times
The post BBK’s Pick of the Week: No beating about the Bush for TUT appeared first on Varsity Sports SA.