Well done GU, but...

| Tuesday March 2, 2010 00:00

Up against the institution that is Orlando Pirates and playing against a vociferous crowd of confident Buc's fans, GU shrugged off the underdog tag to snatch a draw away from the favourites.

We salute the astuteness of the technical team, the resilience of the players and the passion of the fans who travelled to Port Elizabeth in numbers.

One could have easily written off GU's chances when they fell 2-0 behind early in the second half.

It takes guts to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, but GU did the unimaginable and levelled scores with just a few minutes remaining on the clock.

GU should not be viewed as just a club from Botswana, but it should be seen as a Botswana representative and an embodiment of our soccer.

It is for this reason that we saw Botswana flags flying proudly in Port Elizabeth. In fact, it is possible that more people in South Africa will remember that Orlando Pirates fell to a team from Botswana, than they will the name of that team.

We therefore, urge soccer fans to put individual club interests aside and rally behind GU as they fly the country's flag.

That victory is evidence that although our national team has been faltering of late, there is still a glimmer of hope.

It shows that there are still people who are doing things right and it can only be proper if club structures are intact as local teams feed the national side.

The victory against Pirates presents a plethora of other challenges to GU, chief among them finance.As the competition progresses, it is likely that the team will be fixtured further from the region and this will hit our representatives hard.

We urge the corporate world and individuals to be accommodating when GU knocks at their doors.

On the field of play, while we salute GU, the side should not be lulled into a false sense of security.

However, epic the victory was, it should not be forgotten that Sunday's match was only a preliminary round encounter. Thus, celebration must be tempered with prudence and foresight.

If anything, the 'real' test is only coming. Pirates or South African sides, have been dismal in African competitions and we should not entirely use them as the yardstick of what to expect. The big guns will only join the competition in the first round, where GU is. GU must be prepared to spend and play friendly matches against regional sides to gauge their competitiveness.

It has been proven overtime that there are no small sides in African competitions and GU should believe in themselves, which will enable them to go far in this tournament.

                                                                          Today's thought

                                                      'Victory is not everything. It is the only thing'.

                                                                          - Anon