In reflecting on the 2025/26 Motsepe Foundation Championship season, Venda Football Club (VFC) head coach Clinton Larsen described the campaign as inconsistent and unpredictable.
Speaking after VFC’s 2–1 defeat to Highbury at Thohoyandou Stadium last Sunday, Larsen said it had been a season full of surprises, with his side dropping points in matches where they were expected to perform strongly.
He cited their home defeat to Midlands Wanderers at Thohoyandou Stadium on Sunday, 25 October, as one such example, where VFC lost 1–0 despite expectations of a comfortable win.
Larsen added that there were also matches where a draw would have been a satisfactory result, given the strength of the opposition. He said a victory over Highbury away from home was not something he had anticipated.
The 51-year-old coach said the 1–0 win over Milford FC at Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday, 22 April, was equally unexpected.
Asked about VFC’s poor run of form in the new year after a strong start to the season, Larsen said he could not explain what changed during the festive break.
VFC were fourth on the log going into the break but struggled in the second half of the season, winning only four of their 13 matches in 2026. At one stage, the team dropped into the bottom three before recovering to finish ninth with 36 points.