Coaches speak about their teams’ progress in the Safa Joburg men’s regional league
With the league approaching its end, Midrand reporter had a conversation with some of the coaches from the local teams that play in the regional league to find out how their teams are progressing and future plans for their teams.
The South African Regional League is the fourth tier of domestic football in the country’s football pyramid and four Midrand teams compete in it.
The teams are Midrand Spoilers, Hawks FC, Super Rovers, and Indlovu.
The top two ranked teams in the league at the end of the season qualify for playoffs against third-tier ABC Motsepe League relegated teams. The winner from the playoffs gets promoted to the Motsepe league.
With the league approaching its latter stages, Midrand Reporter spoke to three of the coaches from the local teams.
Lead headline: Spoilers chairperson to axe ill-disciplined players
Midrand Spoilers chairperson Samuel Maboa believed that his struggling team could survive being relegated.
“Midrand Spoilers will not be relegated but the players will and that will be the end of their football,” he said.
Maboa’s side has only two wins coupled with five draws and 15 losses and the chairperson believed 10 wins from their remaining 14 league encounters could save their status.
“Winning the league is now impossible but there is still a chance for survival and my target is to survive relegation. We need at least 10 wins and that is up to the players to save the status, not me. The team will train in the mornings and again in the afternoons to achieve this.”
Spoilers suffered a blow at the beginning of this season after losing several key players. This was especially at the back when they lost defence winger Thapelo Thipe and their long-term centre-back skipper Lukhanyo ‘Ntsimbi’ Mapeyi who joined their Midrand rivals Indlovu.
Due to the team’s constant defensive change, they have already conceded 67 goals in 22 matches, compared to 37 goals they conceded last year in 24 matches as they went on to finish fourth.
“We lost many players when approaching the season. On the other hand, players do not attend games regularly. For example, if a player is on the bench this week, next week they won’t attend training and the next match. They do not take football seriously.
Maboa said players’ drinking was another issue at the team and to curb this ill-discipline he would replace those guilty with the youngsters.
Indlovu targets top four
After winning the Midrand Local Football Association league last year, Indlovu became one of the most feared teams in Midrand with the goal-orientated coach Thato Legodi at the helm.
Coming into the Joburg men’s regional league, Legodi’s mandate was simple for his players, ‘win the league or finish top four’.
Despite having the potential to finish in the top four and even win the league, the team has been unpredictable so far, collecting 32 points from 23 games. They are ninth on the table, eight points behind fourth-positioned FC Barcenal.
“I think we started very badly in the season because of the adjustments the players had to make to adapt to the environment [of the regional league] and also get used to the format of playing home and away as that is not the case in the LFA.”
Although they had a slow start to the season, the Elephants managed to hold last season’s league winners Opopo to a 1–1 home draw and lost 0–1 in the second leg.
Legodi believed his boys would be the first Midrand team to win the regional league and even go as far as winning the ABC Motsepe league.
He applauded his defenders Lukhanyo Mapeyi, Aggregate Maluleke, and Sello Kgodu who have recently been solid at the back. “Also Minnintle Ragimana, Mthokozisi Maseko, Shanen Booysen, Solomon Mokommane, and Gift Matjokotja have made scoring easy for us with their hard work.
“However, now that we have settled in the league I think we need to sharpen our attackers… I mean scoring should be a culture for our players because we intend to play supreme football.
“Indlovu is a huge club with the most talented young players. It is just a matter of the management to make sure that we keep them motivated and focused.”
Challenges lead to Hawks’ recent poor performance
The first leg of the Joburg men’s regional league saw Hawks FC flying in the top three of the table, but 23 games later the Midrand team finds themselves in position 11.
As a result, Hawks coach Kenneth ‘Coach K’ Sithole said the ‘team’s spirit has fallen’.
Sithole said the many challenges that the club faced this second leg of the 2022/23 season included poor officiating, players leaving due to relocation, injuries to key players, delays in obtaining new players’ league cards, and complacency on the part of the players.
Hawks had no losses before the break, but now have lost nine with five draws and nine wins. They have 32 points and only collected two points from a possible 24 points in their last eight matches, conceding 13 goals and finding the net three times.
“We initially intended to win promotion to the ABC Motsepe League but we are still in the mathematical standings, so we’ll keep trying until the end of the season.”.
Despite Hawks’ poor performance, Sithole has certainly improved the team since taking the reins at the start of the season. He was approached by two soccer greats, Sugar Mokoka and Hawks chairperson Sam Mothapo, who nurtured the late South African association football manager and former Kaizer Chiefs skipper Johannes ‘Ryder’ Mofokeng.
Sithole was a former soccer player and he is no stranger to tasting victory as he went on to win the TUFA league both as a player and a coach.
He said with his experience and a diploma in sport management, a generic coaching certificate, and an exercise science certificate, he promises to wake up the beast that Hawks is one again.
“Great stuff and good football are coming from Hawks. We are forming a disciplined team and trendsetters in terms of club branding and professionalism.”
Related Article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/318924/local-schools-compete-in-vw-train-4-life/
