DURBAN – Royal Eagles have admitted that their chances of getting promoted to the PSL are slim.
The KwaZulu-Natal based team suffered a 2-1 defeat to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila this past weekend at Thohoyandou Stadium in a promotion/relegation playoff encounter.
The Eagles are still on three points after three games, while Maritzburg have amassed six points from two games.
Maritzburg are one point away from retaining their top flight status.
Eagles coach Sazi Ngubane admitted that their chances of getting promoted are slim, saying: “Our chances of getting promotion are too slim now. We will wait until our last game. Our game against Maritzburg United will determine our verdict. It is important to win our last game against Maritzburg on Wednesday. That will give us a chance."
Eagles face Maritzburg on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to be played at Chatsworth Stadium. Eagles need to win that game at all costs, otherwise they can forget about promotion.
Wonderboy Makhubu of Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and Philani Cele of Royal Eagle during the NFD Playoffs match on Saturday. Photo: Kabelo Leputu/ BackpagePix
“In football if you can’t bury your chances away you are likely to lose. We lost the game in the first half. We were not at our best in the first half. We started the game slow and they punished us. Second (half) we were better because we came out and scored that goal. TTM parked the bus and it wasn’t easy to crack them,” Ngubane added.
Mathematically, TTM are also still in it. All they have to do is hope that Eagles beat Maritzburg on Wednesday and that they defeat the Team of Choice on Saturday and then the mini league will be decided on goal difference.
“We were shaky at the back in the first half. I can’t tell why we started so slow. We spoke about that going into the game. We’ve been preaching about the importance of not conceding early since the start of the playoffs.” Ngubane explained.