Thwihli Thwahla bid to make it three in a row

STELLENBOSCH FC, in search of a win this season, will take on the unbeaten Royal AM at the Danie Craven Stadium today (kick-off 3pm).

On the back of a successful league campaign last season, the side from the Western Cape is yet to record a victory this season.

In facing Marumo Gallants and Orlando Pirates in their opening matches, Stellies recorded 0-0 and 1-1 draws.

After their stalemate against the Buccaneers, coach Steve Barker lauded his side’s first-half performance and their fighting spirit in wanting to rescue a point.

“It was a tough encounter, Pirates are a good team. Credit must go to my team,” Barker said.

“I thought we were superb in the first half, it’s probably the best 45 minutes I’ve seen this football club play.

“A bit of a travesty of justice to go 1-0 down. A lot of things didn’t go our way, but we stuck to the task and continued to fight for the badge of the club, and I think we deserved a point at least.”

As for Royal, Dan Malesela’s side has been dancing in the DStv Premiership so far, picking up two wins on the trot. Thwihli Thwahla faced Kaizer Chiefs in their opening match of the season and subsequently recorded their third successive win against Amakhosi.

Royal AM then took on Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium and managed to come away with all three points in the process.

After the game, Malesela mentioned that despite the win, they weren’t happy with their performance and that Royal AM are showing signs of a team that wants to compete.

“We cannot be selfish and start complaining, we appreciate the three points,” Malesela said.

“But you could see we were not that happy. We know how we can perform.

“But that’s a sign of a competing team, you win, and you worry about how you win.

“If you can have that mentality, then it bodes well for the future of the team.”

Meanwhile, Marumo Gallants will face off with Lamontville Golden Arrows at the Peter Mokaba Stadium today (start 3pm).

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa remain without a win this season, having drawn 0-0 with PSL debutants Richards Bay away on Tuesday, their second successive draw.

The Limpopo-based side is currently 11th on the league standings, having failed to score in their first two matches this term, including their 0-0 draw with Stellenbosch at home last weekend.

Romain Folz, the Gallants coach, insisted that he is not worried by his side failing to score thus far in the current campaign and he is confident that they will soon start scoring goals.

“It’s game number two, we are happy with the fact that we have played two matches in a row without conceding. But [goalscoring] is an area where we have to improve. We will improve,” Folz said.

“Our priority is to be a solid team and be able to concede fewer chances in a game, then our offensive department, as we work on their confidence, will improve.

“Of course, in the offensive department we can do better, but we can be happy with the fact that we have a strong team and it is going to be a good team going forward.”

Meanwhile, Arrows’ woes continued this term when they recorded their second consecutive defeat in the league – losing 1-0 to Sekhukhune United away on Wednesday.

Currently placed 16th in the league standings, Abafana Bes’tende have failed to score in their first two games this season, having lost 2-0 to Richards Bay in their opening game of the campaign.

Vusumuzi Vilakazi, the Arrows co-head coach, was frustrated after watching his charges fail to score against Sekhukhune, but he remains optimistic that his side will soon return to winning ways.

“It is very frustrating, I mean we were very desperate. We wanted to score goals and they were missing,” Vilakazi said.

“We will work on that and improve because in other aspects we are okay, but we cannot take our chances at the moment.

“We will soldier on, we don’t have any other choice.

“We have a game against Marumo Gallants on Saturday. We have to redeem ourselves and we have to get the three points. Once we get the three points we will then kick-start our season.”