With the destination of the Absa Premiership title decided last week, the focus in the final two rounds of the 2015/16 campaign quickly shifts to the bottom half of the table where Jomo Cosmos, University of Pretoria and Maritzburg United - with one destined for the drop - are not out of the woods yet as far as automatic relegation is concerned.
It might not be worth celebrating, but being able to avoid a straight swap with a side that will emerge as National First Division champions as early as tomorrow night, goes a long way especially for University of Pretoria - coached by Shaun Bartlett - and basement dwellers Maritzburg, who are led by Ernst Middendorp.
The two teams are tied on 21 points, while Cosmos have the luxury (if you want to call it that) of being four points ahead.
“Everyone knows just how important the last two matches are.
“No-one needs to be preaching to us about it,” said AmaTuks defender Tebogo Monyai yesterday.
“The coach has been trying to remind us that we will be playing in two cup finals because we won’t get a second chance. If we can’t win, we get knocked out. I think of this as the last kick of a dying horse. And we don’t need any players panicking and thinking about dropping to a lower division.”
Monyai, who has watched most of this relegation scrap from the sidelines because of suspensions and just purely because Bartlett has opted for a back four that doesn’t include the former skipper and Moroka Swallows veteran, said their trip to Polokwane City for tomorrow night’s clash at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium is an encounter they have dominated previously.
“If you recall, we beat them 3-0 in the first round (in August) and the season before we were also able to beat them 5-0. We know we can get a positive result there, but my biggest worry is that we could have a situation where players are unsettled because of losing the last three games,” Monyai explained.
“We lost to Kaizer Chiefs, Jomo Cosmos and then to Sundowns and that can affect your confidence. Before that we were playing very well and growing in confidence that we can avoid relegation. We have even brought in a life coach to try and help us in these last two matches.”
AmaTuks are also lacking in experience for this occasion. Apart from coach Bartlett, who was at the helm when Golden Arrows were relegated in 2014 only to guide them back a season later, the Tshwane-based outfit only has two players who can say they have been out in the trenches in their attempts to help former clubs manage the great escape.
“There’s Willem (Mwedihanga), who played for AmaZulu and Vuyisile Ntombayithethi, who was involved at Arrows and Chippa United when they were desperately trying to stay up. The rest are on foreign land here. That is why I keep repeating that we need cool and calm heads to make sure we get the job done,” Monyai said.
Fasten your seatbelts as this rollercoaster ride prepares to take off. There’s already been mind games being played, Cosmos coach Jomo Sono claiming last week that Maritzburg were behind a Safa case against his club for allegedly using an illegible player this season. – The Star