22 March 2018 – The Eastern Cape stream of SAFA’s ABC Motsepe League seems to be heading towards an exciting climax, particularly given the results over the past week.
Tornado are looking unstoppable and racing towards the title while FC Buffalo seem to be all but relegated.
Other teams though, such as current mid-table Sibanye FC, still have everything to play for. Having endured a mixed bag of results, the club are hoping for a strong finish to the season and have something to show for their hard work, investment and dedication.
Last Friday evening saw Sibanye and Highbury play out to a hard fought 1-1 draw in Port Elizabeth.
Sibanye CEO Brendan Bosman stated: “It was an intense game considering the league position of the two teams. Both had the desire to win and cement a mid-table spot”.
Sibanye retained their top eight spot while Highbury would have been desperate for all three points in attempting to climb out of the bottom three. The home team however would have felt disappointed, having missed a penalty.
“At the end we felt really unlucky not to win the match given that we missed a first half penalty. With the keeper sent the wrong way, our number ten struck the opposite post”, he said.
The player made up for it though by putting his team into the lead midway through the second half via a well taken goal from eighteen yards out. Celebrations were short-lived as Sibanye conceded a mere two minutes after scoring.
Bosman wasn’t too thrilled but offered some hope for the rest of their campaign. “Allowing the opposition to dribble past three players and score after laps in concentration is unacceptable but we will continue to fight and our end-goal is a top six position”.
Strong words indeed from the Sibanye boss with an achievable end goal. The team will need to gain more consistency though having come unstuck at the Jan Smuts Stadium on Wednesday evening with a 1-0 loss away to a desperate FC Buffalo.
Saturday’s game against City Lads at the Fairview Sports fields is seen as a must-win encounter by head coach Glenton de Kock and Sibanye will no doubt be up for the challenge with a top six goal well in sight.