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| VNU take on Kruger in 4th Cup round |
A badly one-sided home 1-0 defeat to Division 1a leaders Scottys RFC on Monday fully exposed the fallacy that Viking North Utsire might be able to compete at this level this season. The Utsirans actually managed the sole shot of the first half, despite giving up 61% possession, but were outclassed after the break and Cal Cosgrove turned home what proved to be a deserved winner for the visitors on the hour after an Ian Richardson freekick -- taking unbeaten Scottys four points clear at the summit.
With Mudchute Packers beating SC Bananas to vault ahead of both their victims and VNU, VelvetAndroid's side drop a place to 3rd with what already looks something of a, well, banana skin against Bananas the next thing to navigate this coming Monday. The playoff slot is now two points ahead of them and the relegation line just three below, so any slip means the Norsemen could find themselves abruptly in amidst the tussle to keep their heads above water rather than looking for a swift return to the top flight.
Before that another litmus test awaits this Friday when the first leg of the Ultimate League Cup's fourth-round arrives, because the Utsirans have been pitched in against strong opposition -- in the shape of peers from the other half of Division 1, and moreover UL Cup winners just the season before last, Kruger FC. The latter are admittedly struggling at the foot of Div 1b so far this term, but their recent cup pedigree is unquestionable: their Season 52 triumph was their second final in seven seasons, and they reached the sixth round in their defence of the trophy last term. The 19th seeds coming out of the hat with 10th-seeded Viking means that this is easily the lowest 'combined seeding' for any tie of this round, unfortunately for both participants who have not been blessed by what is a tough draw at such a relatively early stage of the competition.
Like VNU, highly-rated manager Fereos has built his team from the youth academy and -- in Kruger's case -- very cheaply-signed youngsters and so they are doing well to be competing at such a high level in this fearsomely competitive league. The only previous meeting between the pair was just over 2 years ago, a friendly at Kruger won 4-1 by Viking, so there is little to go on there. There is not much between the sides on paper, so it may come down to who has more stomach for a continued cup fight over two legs. It is perhaps open to pondering whether each club would prefer to keep fighting on two fronts, would welcome a cup exit to concentrate on the league, or welcome a prolonged run of Friday fixtures to distract from the difficulties they face on Mondays...!
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