Kathorus United Ladies seal win despite fatigue, injuries  

Duduza – The Kathorus United Ladies’ team travelled from Katlehong to Duduza to face the Junior Season Thando Valentines FC in the South African Football Association’s Ekurhuleni Women’s Regional League on April 27.

The game played in the Kathorus United Ladies’ favour when they scored two goals within the first half. The team’s head coach, Kgomotso Morgane, said the first half did not play out as they had anticipated.

“We scored just two goals in the first half when we could have scored over four. We played a team we had never played against before, and did not know what to expect.

“We tried to be as cautious as possible, but within 10 minutes of playing the game, we realised we had many opportunities to score winning goals,” explained Morgane.

He said he was unimpressed by his players’ energy.

“We played an exciting game the previous day, so my players were probably still fatigued. I realised my opponents were missing one player in the second half, so I used that to my advantage. I cut one of my players from the back and allocated her to the front.

“This is how we scored four goals in the second half because we applied pressure. The game got more intense when my key players got hurt. Despite this hiccup, we won,” he added.

Morgane said he was happy to have won, saying his team had the potential to score 20 goals.

“I will focus more on their game-finishing skills as this affects how we play and conclude each game. We have the potential to do incredibly well,” he said.

The game ended with a score of 6-0 to the Kathorus United Ladies. The Junior Season Thando Valentines FC chairperson, Tina Tshabalala, said their biggest challenge was insufficient players.

“In the first half, we played the game with insufficient players. They arrived late towards the second half of the game, slowing down the entire team’s performance and resulting in a loss. Many players ended up feeling discouraged and uninspired to do well.

“We managed to work as a team in the first half and noticed that we did not make as many mistakes as we did in the first half.

“They communicated efficiently, and we aim to encourage our players to fight to get the ball closer to the pole each time they play. We want them to experience each part of the ground rather than just playing in the middle of the field,” said Tshabalala.

She added that they aim to do well in all the upcoming games, saying they would encourage their team to arrive early for each game.

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