Venda Football Club (VFC) are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for two tough matches against Northern Cape sides Upington City and Hungry Lions in the Motsepe Foundation Championship League, which they will play within four days.
VFC’s first assignment is to try to beat Upington City at the Mxolisi Dicky Jacobs Stadium in Upington next Wednesday, 8 April. VFC, also known as Maunavhathu, will not return home after their game against Upington City. The team will remain in the Northern Cape until their next match against Hungry Lions at the same venue on Saturday, 11 April.
Holding City and Hungry Lions to a draw will be an achievement for Maunavhathu, as both teams are in the race for promotion. Upington City were in sixth position with 32 points before their game against Black Leopards at Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday. Hungry Lions are in third place with 39 points, one behind the leaders, Milford FC. The results of the match were not available at the time of going to print.
The head coach of VFC, Mr Clinton Larsen, said they were going to the Northern Cape with one goal in mind: to win both matches and stay in the race for promotion. VFC are in ninth position with 27 points from 22 outings.
After saving several certain goals in their game against Cape Town City at Thohoyandou Stadium two weeks ago, VFC’s keeper, Malcolm Jacobs, is likely to feature in the team’s starting eleven.
The other Thohoyandou-based side, Black Leopards, will fly to Cape Town to play against Cape Town City at the Athlone Stadium next week. Other fixtures next week are Gomora United vs The Bees, Midlands Wanderers vs Baroka FC, University of Pretoria vs Highbury FC, Kruger United vs Lerumo Lions, and Milford FC vs Casric Stars.