Grahamstown women's soccer side African connection had a tough start to their season with a 5-0 drubbing from Port Elizabeth side Golden Stars.
Grahamstown women's soccer side African connection had a tough start to their season with a 5-0 drubbing from Port Elizabeth side Golden Stars.
Taking the sting out of their disappointment, coach Chris Totobela noted that this was the first time in months that the team – usually the team to beat in the regional league – have had a taste of their own medicine.
"It's not a bad thing," Totobela told Grocott's Mail. "They can see where they're aiming for."
But ultimately it looked like a matter of fitness.
The first half looked like things might go the way of African Connection, as time and again, they put pressure on a tentative Bay side.
The score at half time was 0-0.
But the second half took its toll on the 2014 Safa Cacadu league champions – only in their first week of training. While their passes remained strong, they didn't get many opportunities, with the now warmed-up Stars running circles around them.
The whistle couldn't come soon enough from the Grahamstown side.
"It's good for them to play strong teams like this," said Totobela.
"It was very hard, but we tried our best," said captain Nosifundo Mfabana, a final-year student at Eastcape Midlands College.
"More gym, more strategic play."
"This isn't the end. We will be out there again."
*Story corrected: The Port Elizabeth side's name is Golden Stars, not Golden Rose
