Cape Town City have made a habit of losing to the bottom teams in the PSL and as a result find themselves flirting with relegation.
City, once feared, first handed bottom-placed hosts AmaZulu their first win of the season (2-1), then came unstuck at home to Chippa United (1-0) when they were at the foot of the table, before going down 3-2 at Polokwane City on Sunday to hand the basement dwellers only their third victory from their last 16 outings.
And let’s not forget about the 1-0 defeat away to relegation-threatened NFD outfit Mbombela United 10 days ago in the Nedbank Cup round of 32.
One has to wonder how a talented group of players who have not won a game yet on the road can implode the way they have this season. Who is to blame for the sorry state of affairs is the conundrum facing City chairperson John Comitis, who wasn’t at Sunday’s game as he was in Mauritius. But the boss is back in town and will want answers after City’s latest debacle.
Head coach Jan Olde Riekerink, who he backs to the hilt, has a lot to answer for. The Dutchman has slightly improved the plight of the team since replacing Benni McCarthy in November. While Olde Riekerink is trying his best and believes in his troops, three wins from 11 games isn’t good enough with so much at stake.
His tactics that his charges battle with are a cause for concern.
Why opt for a counter-attacking approach against a side like Polokwane who they beat with ease in November (5-3) when his assistant Vasili Manousakis was in the dugout.
City’s first game after McCarthy departed saw the players deliver a top-class performance to which the opposition had no answers. They played with speed and flair, and scored with ease.
There was no sitting back and allowing the other team to come at them, as was the case on Sunday. Olde Riekerink opted for a 4-2-4 formation and it never worked. Something needs to be done before it’s too late. City are only four points ahead of the bottom four teams with eight matches to play.
City have a break before their next league match against 10th-placed Bloemfontein Celtic at Cape Town Stadium on 8 March, presenting Comitis with the chance to get to the bottom of what’s holding back his charges from playing to their true potential.