With just three days to the start of another gruelling National First Division season, Mthatha Bucks yesterday unveiled no less than nine new signings.
Notable among the new signings was experienced attacking midfield-cum-striker Chileshe Kangwa from seasoned African Champions League campaigners Zesco United from Zambia.
The other eight new faces include defender Aphiwe Lubisi, left-back Moreke Mokone and winger Kgotso Mokhele, all signed from PSL side Bloemfontein Celtics; defender Gift Sithole from African Warriors; midfielder Sive Klaushe from FC Malaga; fellow midfielder Mazwi Mncube from NFD side Thanda Royal Zulu; goalkeeper Siya Mngoma from Royal Eagles and right-winger Tapelo Sixishe from Cape Town-based Glendene United.
Among those released from the team are veteran striker Moses Spandeel, who has retired, long-serving Sibusiso Maphompo, who has also hung up his boots to take up a position in the technical team, third-choice goalkeeper Lucky Mshumpela, former Kaizer Chiefs forward David Radebe, Sibusiso Hlubi and Bongani Kama.
Amathol’amnyama, as the Eastern Cape lads are fondly referred to, will kick-off their 2016-17 campaign against Stellenbosch FC (formerly Vasco Da Gama) at the Mthatha Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The local lads were expected to have a memorable maiden campaign in the NFD ranks last season having been promoted from the third tier.
And memorable it was – just not for the expected reasons.
While they dominated most of their home games, and even some on the road, the failure to find the back of the net with regularity saw Amathol’amnyama having to fight tooth and nail to avoid the dreaded drop back to the ABC Motsepe League.
But a mixture of good luck and a rich form of scoring vein towards the latter part of their campaign saw them avoid the chop.
Drawing from last year’s experience, Bucks coach Velile Dyaloyi says they aim to collect points in all their home games while getting positive results on the road.
“It’s our mission this season that in every home game we get a positive result,” he said.
When pressed for comment on where the team aims to finish on the league, the soft-spoken Veza, as Dyaloyi is affectionately known, would not reveal much, saying it was not in his nature to make such predictions especially considering the fact that his side was involved in a fiercely-contested relegation dogfight only a few months ago.
“You can’t be number last today and tomorrow you say you will be number one. We have to take the team step by step.”
Discussing the signings, he described Kangwa as a technically sound midfield with a knack for finding the back of the net.
But he said they would still look to bolster the team further after losing striker Sydney Masana to Bloemfontein Celtics and Spandeel to retirement.
“We are looking at strengthening that area . Spandeel’s retirement created a gap. Unfortunately we also went and played against Celtics and they wanted Masana.We had to strike a deal which saw the two teams involved in exchanging players and we got the three players in return,” he added.
On Saturday’s game against Stellenbosch, he said the team had a very long pre-season spanning eight weeks.
But it was still difficult to gauge the progress of his players as sometimes players avoided getting into physical tussles during pre-season games.
Meanwhile, general manager Luxolo Matikinca said unlike other professional outfits in the country, Bucks was struggling with infrastructure issues as they were forced to use Rotary Stadium in Ngangelizwe for training and the Mthatha Stadium for games.
“It has an astro turf,” he said.
He also lamented the fact that despite being the province’s only representative in the proffesional soccer ranks, local businesses were reluctant to offer support.
“We have been trying to lure sponsors but it is difficult,” he added. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
New kids on the Bucks block
Notable among the new signings was experienced attacking midfield-cum-striker Chileshe Kangwa from seasoned African Champions League campaigners Zesco United from Zambia.
The other eight new faces include defender Aphiwe Lubisi, left-back Moreke Mokone and winger Kgotso Mokhele, all signed from PSL side Bloemfontein Celtics; defender Gift Sithole from African Warriors; midfielder Sive Klaushe from FC Malaga; fellow midfielder Mazwi Mncube from NFD side Thanda Royal Zulu; goalkeeper Siya Mngoma from Royal Eagles and right-winger Tapelo Sixishe from Cape Town-based Glendene United.
Among those released from the team are veteran striker Moses Spandeel, who has retired, long-serving Sibusiso Maphompo, who has also hung up his boots to take up a position in the technical team, third-choice goalkeeper Lucky Mshumpela, former Kaizer Chiefs forward David Radebe, Sibusiso Hlubi and Bongani Kama.
Amathol’amnyama, as the Eastern Cape lads are fondly referred to, will kick-off their 2016-17 campaign against Stellenbosch FC (formerly Vasco Da Gama) at the Mthatha Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The local lads were expected to have a memorable maiden campaign in the NFD ranks last season having been promoted from the third tier.
And memorable it was – just not for the expected reasons.
While they dominated most of their home games, and even some on the road, the failure to find the back of the net with regularity saw Amathol’amnyama having to fight tooth and nail to avoid the dreaded drop back to the ABC Motsepe League.
But a mixture of good luck and a rich form of scoring vein towards the latter part of their campaign saw them avoid the chop.
Drawing from last year’s experience, Bucks coach Velile Dyaloyi says they aim to collect points in all their home games while getting positive results on the road.
“It’s our mission this season that in every home game we get a positive result,” he said.
When pressed for comment on where the team aims to finish on the league, the soft-spoken Veza, as Dyaloyi is affectionately known, would not reveal much, saying it was not in his nature to make such predictions especially considering the fact that his side was involved in a fiercely-contested relegation dogfight only a few months ago.
“You can’t be number last today and tomorrow you say you will be number one. We have to take the team step by step.”
Discussing the signings, he described Kangwa as a technically sound midfield with a knack for finding the back of the net.
But he said they would still look to bolster the team further after losing striker Sydney Masana to Bloemfontein Celtics and Spandeel to retirement.
“We are looking at strengthening that area . Spandeel’s retirement created a gap. Unfortunately we also went and played against Celtics and they wanted Masana.We had to strike a deal which saw the two teams involved in exchanging players and we got the three players in return,” he added.
On Saturday’s game against Stellenbosch, he said the team had a very long pre-season spanning eight weeks.
But it was still difficult to gauge the progress of his players as sometimes players avoided getting into physical tussles during pre-season games.
Meanwhile, general manager Luxolo Matikinca said unlike other professional outfits in the country, Bucks was struggling with infrastructure issues as they were forced to use Rotary Stadium in Ngangelizwe for training and the Mthatha Stadium for games.
“It has an astro turf,” he said.
He also lamented the fact that despite being the province’s only representative in the proffesional soccer ranks, local businesses were reluctant to offer support.
“We have been trying to lure sponsors but it is difficult,” he added. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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