After dropping league points in their last three matches, Venda Football Club (VFC) face a mammoth task when they take on University of Pretoria FC (AmaTuks) in their Motsepe Foundation Championship match at the Absa Tuks Stadium in Pretoria on Sunday.
Although VFC and AmaTuks are in seventh and tenth positions respectively, they both stand an outside chance of lifting the trophy at the end of the season.
The head coach of VFC, Clinton Larsen, is confident that they will return to Thohoyandou with three points on Sunday. He said everyone in the camp was aware that failure to collect the maximum points at stake on Sunday would jeopardise the team’s chances of promotion. He added that last Sunday’s goalless draw with Baroka FC at Thohoyandou Stadium had done Maunavhathu more harm than good.
Kwanele Kopo, the head coach of AmaTuks, said they were not going to allow VFC to shame them in front of their home crowd.
After keeping a clean sheet in their game against Baroka last Sunday, VFC’s experienced keeper, Rotshidzwa Muleka, is likely to be in the starting eleven on Sunday. Maunavhathu’s defence, which is marshalled by Tshovelo Mathebula and Tebogo Makobela, is not easy to beat.
Also on Sunday, Black Leopards will host Leicesterford City at Thohoyandou Stadium. The other weekend fixtures include Gomora United vs Midlands Wanderers and Baroka FC vs Hungry Lions.