BAFANA Bafana failed to record a much needed win in their friendly match against Senegal at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday night.
The team is still recovering from a patch of disappointing results which include a 2-1 loss to neighbours Zimbabwe in their last fixture.
Head coach, Pitso Mosimane, said on Supersport.com on Monday that “winning would be more important than playing fascinating football”. Having said this, Mosimane fielded a fiery attacking line up which saw Bafana create the majority of the goal scoring chances in the match.
The first goal-scoring opportunity fell to midfielder May Mahlangu inside 10 minutes of the opening half. Mahalangu, had his left-footed strike well saved by Senegalese keeper, Bouna Coundoul, after a good interchange of passing saw him go clean through at goal.
An animated Mosimane stood on the touchline the entire game urging his players to fight on in pursuit of their first-ever victory over Senegal.
Bafana Bafana’s next attempt at goal came on the half-hour mark when Katlego Mphela had his tame shot easily saved by Coundoul again after a display of good passing in attack.
Senegal did not really look threatening in attack with Bafana keeper, Itumeleng Khune, having a rather quiet game.
Mosimane shuffled the line up in the second half by trying combinations of local players who injected more pace in attack.
Both teams had clear-cut chances to clinch victory with the first falling to Senegalese striker, Dame N’Doye, who scuffed his shot from close range with just the keeper to beat. At the other end Mphela received a cutback from Maluleke with four minutes left in the game but he got closed down quickly due to indecisiveness.
The final whistle put more pressure on Mosimane who has come under heavy criticism recently for the team’s run of poor results.
Zimbo is a play that depicts the hardships Zimbabweans face daily and what they hope uMsindisi (the messiah) will grant them on his second coming.
Writer and director, Bhekilizwe Ndlovu, a Wits masters graduate in applied drama, said he was inspired by Woza Albert!
“The play illustrates how different players have contributed to the demise of a once-beautiful Zimbabwe which was considered the bread ‘basket of Africa’.”
The play is performed by Witsies Cornet Mamabolo and Thembile Tsuma.
In Woza Albert! the characters ask the messiah to raise their struggle heroes from the dead, but in Zimbo there is a turning point when uMsindisi tells the characters to stop being cowards and become their own heroes by solving the challenges they face.
“People are quick to run to all sorts of places and players, such as the Southern African Development Community and the United Nations to help solve their problems.
“Zimbo teaches us that we can become our own heroes and not even necessarily through violence,” said Ndlovu.
The roof of Rand Lofts building collapsed and fell onto the 2nd floor of University Gate building last week Wednesday as gusty winds and heavy rainfall ripped through Braamfontein.
University Gate is situated on corner Ameshoff and Bertha Street and houses many Witsies such as final year students, Setjeka Chueu and Angelina Edje, who enjoy convenience of staying within walking distance to campus.
Chueu, the construction management student, said: “When the whole thing [the roof of Rand Lofts falling into University Gate building] was happening I really thought I was going to die. The thunder was violent on its own and when mixed with the sound of corrugated iron falling, it was unbearable.”
The storm disjointed the corrugated iron sheets of the Rand Lofts building and they started falling one by one onto University Gate due to the violent winds.
“On their way down the sheets damaged the electric [fence separating the two buildings] and broke our unit’s fascia board. The alarm went off and there were rocks and concrete all over our doorstep,” said Chueu.
Edje witnessed the falling roof from her bathroom window during the ordeal. The quantity surveying student said: “I was really shocked [to see the roof fall] but what worried me the most was the safety of people in the building.”
“After things calmed down the building’s caretaker spoke to us and also assessed the damage the swirling wind had caused. Students started coming out and taking videos of the building with their phones.”
The caretaker of University Gate building known to Vuvuzela as Ndaba said the building is “quite tough” and therefore the damage was minimal.
“You can blame anyone in these kinds of situations where nature takes its cause. I am just thankful the situation left nobody hurt,” he said.
BIDVEST Wits will hope their forward players are more clinical in spearheading the attack when the Clever Boys look to outsmart Kaizer Chiefs in Saturday afternoon’s Absa premiership clash at the Mbombela Stadium.
Since the resumption of the premiership the students have had a string of unfavourable results picking up only one from a possible six points in their last two fixtures, with a nil-nil draw against Maritzburg United at home and a 3-1 away loss to Santos.
Wits’s previous games have been uninspiring with the goal-shy strikers looking rusty and showing a lack of precision in their finishing after two months without competitive football during the league break.
Despite this, a calm looking Wits coach Roger De Sa believes the result will go their way “if the team continues in the form they are playing”.
“We should’ve won both previous league games because our performances have not been bad.
Against Santos, especially, we controlled 70% of the possession and were unlucky to hit the post five times,” he said.
Wits aims for a top eight finish in the league this season and there will be no room for error, particularly in defence, if they are to turn their fortunes against Kaizer Chiefs.
The Glamour Boys have proven that “swagg beats brains” in their recent battles with the Clever Boys both in league and cup fixtures.
In fact one would have to look back to 2009 for the last time Wits had a victory over Chiefs.
To add to Wits’s woes, Chiefs carry a confidence-boosting 3-0 victory over Moroka Swallows in their last fixture into this game, and the quest to displace Mamelodi Sundowns at the top of the premiership log is more than enough motivation for the Soweto based team.
Wits reserve keeper, Steven Hoffman, believes the “team’s mindset will improve” and the players will be “geared up” for the Chiefs encounter.
“We have been working very hard in training and it is to our own benefit because at the end it will all pay off,” he said.
The Wits players are prepared to work even harder to overturn their fortunes in the league and start displaying the fast-paced and dazzling football for which the team was once known in the league.
The five-year suspension of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema makes me think hard about the allocation of appropriate punishment in getting someone to acknowledge their mistakes and not repeat them.
No, of course Malema should not walk scot free if the disciplinary committee found him guilty of sowing division and bringing the party into disrepute. Those are definitely serious violations of the ANC’s code of conduct.
But suspend him for five years? Seriously?
That seems to us more like a conscious decision to effectively end his political career and silence him forever as opposed to making him acknowledge his wrongdoing and rehabilitate him to ensure he does not repeat the offences.
We are not at all fans of Malema or the ANC, but we certainly do not believe “Juju” is a bad leader. Looking only at his leadership, he has bravely challenged unemployment, education, skills development and other socio-economic issues affecting us as young South Africans, most of which even the senior leaders have not been daring enough to speak out on.
At Wits, the Men’s Res committee is facing suspension for “misconduct” during O-week. For two weeks now they have not been formally charged and have continued to endure the hardships of eviction from men’s res, forfeiting leadership privileges and experiencing academic strain.
How appropriate is all this in ensuring that if at all these young leaders are guilty they acknowledge their wrongdoing and more importantly do not repeat their offences? Is Wits trying to rehabilitate them or simply punish them with the aim of destroying their leadership aspirations?
While they wait for their charges to be laid and disciplinary hearings, it has often been the case that leaders at Wits who have been vocal about sensitive issues have seen their academic careers end prematurely.
Just like Malema who has been “disruptive” and “tjatjaraag” the Men’s Res committee could be in for a tough time.
However, I hope management deals with this issue in a manner that rehabilitates and allows these young leaders to acknowledge their wrongdoings, if any, as opposed to simply punishing them aimlessly.
FIRST years at the Men’s Hall of Residence feel “lost” and “confused” without the mentorship of their residence house committee which is currently suspended.
All nine members of the committee were evicted from men’s res two weeks ago after they were suspended.
They are accused of misconduct after they allegedly arrived intoxicated and disrupted an inter-residence talent show during orientation week.
Whilst suspended, the committee has been forbidden by Wits management from any form of communication with first years whom they had been orientating and mentoring during their first days at Wits.
Pius Chilonda, a 1st year BCom student, does not understand the “so-called misconduct” for which the men’s res committee is suspended.
“I find it hard coping without their [men’s res committee] leadership.
We are missing out on the opportunity to learn from them and this is ruining our first year experience,” he said.
Chilonda was backed by his colleague, Sbonga Mthalane, who said: “O-week was the best time of my life.
Activities we did with the house comm were fun and they didn’t force us into anything.”
Last week Dean of Students, Prem Coopoo, said the house committee had been warned against engaging in initiation practices and that humiliation of first years would not be tolerated.
A first year law student, Anathi Jakuju, said during the initiation activities he “felt built up rather than broken down.
“The real humiliation is that we are currently suffering without our leaders and we are missing out on things such as ‘Brotherhood’ which they [house committee] designed to help us,” he said.
Brotherhood is a programme in which senior students, including some from the house committee at Men’s Residence, tutor first years and give them advice on how to cope with academic issues.
First year bachelor of accounting sciences student, Tondy Gubba, believes “students from men’s residence are friendly towards each other and work as a team because of the efforts put in by the house committee.
“Even if we took a vote right now I’m pretty sure that 95% of the people at men’s res want the committee to come back,” he said.
The house committee said they still have not been formally charged and for now they will continue to comply with their suspension.
Zambia overpowered star-studded Cote d’Ivoire 8-7 on penalties to clinch their first ever African Cup of Nations (Afcon) title on Sunday.
Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets), as Zambia is affectionately known, proved that footballing success is achieved by good team spirit and tactical discipline rather than individual brilliance, beat Cote d’Ivoire, who not only were tournament favourites, but had also not conceded a single goal prior to the final.
Students from Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa could not hide their jubilation and paraded the streets of Braamfontein in song, proving that Zambia’s win was a Southern African victory.
Vuvuzela
spoke to Witsies from Zambia to get their perspective on the team’s overall performance in the continental showpiece and find out how they celebrated the victory.
Natasha Ngoma, a 3rd year BA student from Lusaka, said whilst she was still at home in January she watched all the Zambian games leading to the final at a local restaurant with many other fans.
“The final was my favourite match because the team really played their hearts out. Beating Ghana and Ivory Coast was really impressive for me, since prior to the tournament we had not been doing so well,” she said.
Ngoma watched the final in Braamfontein and said she was “most impressed by the player’s good spirit and commitment”.
Ngandwe Chibuye and Keshi Mubanga, also 3rd year BA students, shared in the excitement of Zambia’s Afcon victory.
“There was so much excitement and intense emotion which made me so proud to be Zambian,” said Chibuye. She was backed by Mubanga who said: “When the last penalty was converted, people started jumping around screaming and hugging. It was really an unbelievable moment”.
For 3rd year bachelor of economic science student, Chichi Muyoba, what makes Zambia’s Afcon triumph momentous is that they won it for the first time in their history.
“I am glad to be part of this generation which witnessed history in the making. I watched the game at Newscafe and it felt like I was in Zambia because the bartenders, security guards and everyone else was supporting us,” she said.
Back in Zambia thousands of people skipped work and marched to the airport on Monday to welcome the team back.
“I wish I could have been there so that I could tell my grandchildren about this moment,” said Ngoma.
Bidvest Wits kick started their second half of the Absa premiership with a disappointing nil-nil draw against Maritzburg United at the Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday night.
Both teams displayed rather below par football after being out of league action for two months.
The opening 45 minutes of the match were characterised by misplaced passing and poor decision making from players in which both teams lacked precision and creativity in attack.
A clearly noticeable absentee in the Wits starting line-up was former captain Sifiso Myeni, who joined Orlando Pirates in the January transfer window, on a three year deal.
The Clever Boys would have certainly missed Myeni’s trickery and creativity, which was always a handful for oppositions, because even with the home ground advantage they were rather slow to get out of the starting block. Trusted defender, Sipho Mngomezulu, made his debut as team captain.
The first real attempt at goal came 30 minutes into the match from a Wits free kick which Masibusane Zongo ballooned over the crossbar from 25 yards.
In stoppage time at the end of the first half Wits forward Sifiso Vilakazi had his potent shot well saved by keeper Shuaib Walters, after doing brilliantly to create shooting space for himself around the congested Maritzburg United penalty area.
Wits coach, Roger De Sa, partnered Vilakazi and Ryan Champman upfront and tried to attack United with his normal quick passing and pacey wing play tactic.
All hope was not lost when the teams went into the half time break with the score deadlocked at 0-0, and De Sa must have restored belief in his players because they came back for the second half of the match guns blazing and more purposeful in attack.
Five minutes into the half, Champman fancied an opportunity to put his side into the lead but he saw his shot fly inches over the crossbar.
There were plentiful chances created by both sides in the second half with United’s Byrone Hendricks putting his header wide from a Kurt Lentjies cross and Walters producing the best save of the game by diving to deny Zongo from a superbly struck 30-yard shot.
The game’s pace slowed down at the latter stage of the second half and the teams took a point each at the end of the night.
Wits lies ninth on the premiership log with 24 points after sixteen games and hope to improve their standing when they face Santos tomorrow night.
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Photos: www.justsaypictures.com, myfunnyworld.net and media.photobucket.com
End-of-year examinations are looming and anxiety about being unprepared is beginning to creep into Wits students once again.
Vuvuzela conducted a survey of 100 students to get Witsies’ take on issues relating to exams. The students answered the following questions:
A: Are sweets and energy drinks effective in assisting students when studying?
B: Who do you think is more likely to pass a Wits exam between a hard-working and a smart student?
C: If a student scores 49% for an exam, should it automatically be converted to 50% to allow him/her to pass?
D: Should students have to pay to write supplementary exams?
E: Is a student likely to perform better in an exam after cross-nighting the day before because the information learnt is still fresh in the mind?
F: Is a library where there is complete silence the most effective place to study?
G: Are study groups and sharing notes useful before exams?
H: Can a student who fails his year mark make a turnaround in one single exam?
Survey results are reflected in the graph below. The percentage of students who answered “yes” to the questions is represented by the green bars, while the red bars represent those who said “no”.
In question B the green bar represents “hard-working” and the red bar presents “smart”.
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
