While FC Tafelzucht’s players are showing no signs of “nerves and fear” their coach Oswald “Ossie” Sauls has conceded that his situation is nerve-wrecking and that he has butterflies.
This revelation of the 50 year-old coach comes after their kit handover on Tuesday ahead of their Coke Cup final against Vasco da Gama on Saturday in the Athlone Stadium.
This will be Sauls’ first taste of the ‘Home of Soccer’ as he never had the experience as a player during his days.
“We ran those days at Athlone Stadium with the athletics but I was never in a cloakroom or a dugout for football. So as a player or for me as a coach, now is… I’m honoured and looking forward to that privilege if I can put it that way, you know.”
Sauls admitted that he definitely has some butterflies and nerves leading up to the biggest game of his coaching career.
“The expectation of our passionate and loyal fans is killing me,” Sauls pointed out.
“It can turn out one or two ways, it’s either my team pitches up or they don’t pitch up. On the day it can be them playing brilliant soccer or it might go in Vasco’s favour, you know. But ja, it’s nerve-wracking but If I look at my players I don’t see any signs of nerves and fear. They just look so normal and carry on with their doings.”
Tafelzucht is treading in uncharted territory and is also quite comfortable with the proverbial underdog tag against their much more influential Vasco opponents who are also seeking a maiden title.
Needless to say, Vasco would be extremely eager to crown off their season with the prestigious Coke Cup coupled with their promotion success from the Hollywoodbets Third Division to the ABC Motsepe Division a couple of months ago.
Sauls, who has a fully fit squad, says that they have gone for a couple of light training sessions on the beach to get a “softer feel” under their feet as part of their preparation for the showdown against Vasco.
“I needed to trim my squad and tell two of my players that they can unfortunately not be part of the squad but they fully understand and are all on board,”
Meanwhile in the boys’ section Hanover Park FC face Antalyaspor JPM in the opening fixture of the day while in the ladies section the match-up between the defending champions Dangerous Heroes and the newly promoted HollywoodBets Super League outfit UCT Ladies, promises to be a cracker!
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY AMN STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
