Hope for the best – Leopards coach
BLACK Leopards are now seated at the summit of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) relegation/promotion play-offs following their 1-0 victory over Moroka Swallows at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Sunday.
LIMPOPO – BLACK Leopards are now seated at the summit of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) relegation/promotion play-offs following their 1-0 victory over Moroka Swallows at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but their future lies in the hands of Swallows, who were relegated to the National First Division.
Swallows host second placed Jomo Cosmos at the Dobsonville Stadium tonight (Wednesday) and if The Dube Birds, as Swallows are known, beat or play to a draw against Ezenkosi, Lidoda Duvha will be promoted to the PSL, but a loss for Swallows will condemn Leopards to yet another season in the National First Division.
A solitary strike from Roggert Nyundu sent Swallows packing from the PSL for the first time in history, and Lidoda Duvha coach, Zeca Marques said he believed the players did enough to gain promotion.
“It was one of those victories which you could not celebrate knowing that your fate lies in other people’s hands. We needed a win and we got it, now we wait to see what happens between Swallows and Cosmos. They are relegated, they are probably demoralised and we can only hope for the best,” Marques said.
Lidoda Duvha supporters are likely to be bitter towards Swallows coach, Craig Roslee following his remarks concerning his club’s match against Cosmos.
Asked if he would be competitive tonight, Roslee said: “I will do my job as a coach and prepare the team. The player morale is very low and I cannot tell if they will fight against Cosmos. We are relegated and they are likely to take time to recover from such a tragedy.
“We will be missing four of our key players who are injured and that means we will not have our best team on the pitch. We are professionals and players will only be playing for pride”.
Lidoda Duvha striker, Nyundu said he believed Swallows would not allow themselves to be beaten by Cosmos for the second consecutive time.
“These clubs are both based in Gauteng and Swallows would be playing to restore their pride. Swallows must go the NFD and feel the heat that we felt,” said Nyundu.
