In a shocking turn of events, several PSL club players were robbed at their clubhouse on Friday, a day before a league match; the footballers found themselves stripped of valuable possessions.
The incident plunged the club into uncertainty and distress as they prepared for their Motsepe Foundation Championship game on Saturday at home.
Venda FC is the club in question, and their coach, Vladislav Heric, blamed the robbery incident that took place a day before their match as a contributing factor to the home defeat to Orbit College.
The Motsepe Foundation Championship side were beaten 2-0 at Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The club came into the match after back-to-back victories, including the controversial win against Casric Stars.
But on Friday morning, criminals reportedly broke into the clubhouse and stole soccer boots, cellphones, and other belongings.
“We were not mentally ready for this game [because] we had difficulties,” revealed Heric at the weekend.
VLADISLAV HERIC EXPLAINS HIS PSL CLUB ROBBERY INCIDENT THAT AFFECTED HIS PLAYERS BEFORE A MATCH
“We were robbed on Friday morning before we were supposed to go to camp. The players were devastated. I think that affected the game big time. We didn’t look like ourselves. Although we created a lot of chances, in the first-half we didn’t bury them because the concentration was not okay.”
“We couldn’t get ourselves to the game plan because the concentration was at a very low level. In the first-half, instead of us scoring two goals, they scored two goals because of big mistakes and a very shaky performance at the back, which probably decided the winner today,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Heric believes the club created enough chances to win the match on Saturday. The Serbian-born coach says even if they had Kylian Mbappé on their side, they would have failed to win.
“If I had [Kylian] Mbappé today, it would have never changed. It was not our day. Whatever we tried, all these chances, you could see it’s not our day. I am very sorry that we lost this game today. It was a crucial game to win as we are playing at home and it is difficult to blame the players, they tried their best.”
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