Will relegation-threatened Tembu Royals pull an upset and disrupt Mthatha Bucks’ quest for the ABC Motsepe League championship?
The answer lies at the Rotary Stadium in Mthatha, where the derby is due take place tomorrow at 3pm.
The biggest football derby in Mthatha comes at a crucial stage for both giants, with Bucks out to tighten their grip at the log summit, while Tembu are battling it out to avoid relegation.
Bucks are top of the table with 61 points from 26 games, while the struggling Tembu are languishing at second from bottom with 18 points from 27 matches.
However, such statistics hardly mean anything in a derby as the game is more about bragging rights and pride than anything else.
Bucks team manager, Doc Tukute, was however confident that “there is absolutely no way” they were going to lose tomorrow.
According to him, their opponents are at their lowest point ever and would need a serious miracle to emerge victors tomorrow.
“This is not the Tembu Royals we know in previous years and they have lost many of their top players,” said Tukute.
“The derby, as a result, is no longer what it used to be because there is no competition really.”
But Tembu general manager, Lunga Jijana, said Bucks had better tread carefully because “we are not showing up for that game just to add to the numbers”.
“We are going all out, and who knows just who might triumph, anything is possible,” said Jijana.
“We are at it to win, although I must emphasise we have nothing to prove against Mthatha Bucks.”
Tembu come from a 3-1 victory against Real City last weekend, their first in more than 10 successive games.
This may bolster their confidence tomorrow but according to Tukute the match “is done and dusted before it even starts because there is no way we are going to lose to Tembu”.
Tukute continued: “For me, Tembu will just show up just for honouring the fixture but really there is nothing they are playing for in my opinion.”
Tembu have never been the same since the passing on of their former director, Judge Zolani Dukada earlier on in the season. Since then, said Jijana, no one showed interest in taking over and financial woes resulted in a poor string of results.
“Difficult as it is, I have made peace with the fact that we may get relegated at the end of the season but truly there is nothing we could have done differently under the circumstances,” said Jijana.
Mthatha Bucks on the other hand, said Tukute, are no longer interested in playing “nice and entertaining football” because all that matters to them is maximum points in four of the remaining six games.
He however was concerned about the bumper-to-bumper remaining fixtures as Safa is rushing to wrap up the league.
“But we remain confident and trust the depth we have in our more than capable squad of 27 players,” he said.
“Our supporters are also coming back in many numbers because they can see we are doing something right.
“For them we hope we will overcome the provincial league and do the same in the NFD playoffs and get promoted, which will be good for football-loving people in Mthatha.”
For Tukute it’s all ‘done and dusted’
The answer lies at the Rotary Stadium in Mthatha, where the derby is due take place tomorrow at 3pm.
The biggest football derby in Mthatha comes at a crucial stage for both giants, with Bucks out to tighten their grip at the log summit, while Tembu are battling it out to avoid relegation.
Bucks are top of the table with 61 points from 26 games, while the struggling Tembu are languishing at second from bottom with 18 points from 27 matches.
However, such statistics hardly mean anything in a derby as the game is more about bragging rights and pride than anything else.
Bucks team manager, Doc Tukute, was however confident that “there is absolutely no way” they were going to lose tomorrow.
According to him, their opponents are at their lowest point ever and would need a serious miracle to emerge victors tomorrow.
“This is not the Tembu Royals we know in previous years and they have lost many of their top players,” said Tukute.
“The derby, as a result, is no longer what it used to be because there is no competition really.”
But Tembu general manager, Lunga Jijana, said Bucks had better tread carefully because “we are not showing up for that game just to add to the numbers”.
“We are going all out, and who knows just who might triumph, anything is possible,” said Jijana.
“We are at it to win, although I must emphasise we have nothing to prove against Mthatha Bucks.”
Tembu come from a 3-1 victory against Real City last weekend, their first in more than 10 successive games.
This may bolster their confidence tomorrow but according to Tukute the match “is done and dusted before it even starts because there is no way we are going to lose to Tembu”.
Tukute continued: “For me, Tembu will just show up just for honouring the fixture but really there is nothing they are playing for in my opinion.”
Tembu have never been the same since the passing on of their former director, Judge Zolani Dukada earlier on in the season. Since then, said Jijana, no one showed interest in taking over and financial woes resulted in a poor string of results.
“Difficult as it is, I have made peace with the fact that we may get relegated at the end of the season but truly there is nothing we could have done differently under the circumstances,” said Jijana.
Mthatha Bucks on the other hand, said Tukute, are no longer interested in playing “nice and entertaining football” because all that matters to them is maximum points in four of the remaining six games.
He however was concerned about the bumper-to-bumper remaining fixtures as Safa is rushing to wrap up the league.
“But we remain confident and trust the depth we have in our more than capable squad of 27 players,” he said.
“Our supporters are also coming back in many numbers because they can see we are doing something right.
“For them we hope we will overcome the provincial league and do the same in the NFD playoffs and get promoted, which will be good for football-loving people in Mthatha.”
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