After the first round of NFD matches by all 16 clubs making up the league, at the log summit is an unexpected candidate – Mthatha Bucks.
The Mthatha outfit are tops thanks to a superior goal difference, although five other clubs are on three points as well.
Bucks clobbered Stellenbosch FC by 3-1 at the weekend thanks to a brace by Andile Njokweni and Mazwi Mncube.
Bucks’ current league position is in direct contrast to the position they occupied last season at this stage of the league when they were lying in 14th place.
However, head coach Velile Dyaloyi believes it is too early for them to count their chickens before they hatch on the league title.
According to Dyaloyi, Bucks are far from being what he wants the team to be and he considered their opening game as part of the pre-season.
In fact, Dyaloyi says he does not want to think about winning the league championship yet.
After Bucks were relegation candidates for much of last season – their maiden in the first division – being top of the table is a feat worth celebrating.
But according to Dyaloyi, Bucks needed to focus now more than ever and not get carried away.
“We cannot talk about winning the league just yet having survived relegation by a small margin last season. What is paramount to us right now is to take it a game at a time and be realistic above all.”
Despite the 3-1 drubbing of Stellenbosch being their second biggest win since ascending to the second tier, Dyaloyi insists there is a long way to go before the curtain comes down on the 2016-17 season.
“There is nothing special about this win . It is the first game of the season and I am sure every other team in this league want to see how other teams play,” said Dyaloyi.
“With that said we were better than Stellenbosch FC in terms of creating scoring chances, although we did not convert some that we were supposed to.
“There is still a long way to go though because this thing is a marathon and I feel there are lots of areas where we need to improve, among them being understanding of each other when we have the ball, and our offensive line was not so sharp today, especially during the early stages of the match.”
On Njokweni, who opened his campaign with a chilling brace, Dyaloyi believes it is early days to start singing individual players’ praises.
He said: “It is good that Njokweni scored two goals but the danger with praising players for good performances is what if he delivers in one match and then the same player does not do well in the following match.
“I am happy for Njokweni and I hope he continues with his form in the next match and many others throughout the season.” — zingisam@dispatch.co.za
It’s one step at a time for Bucks in NFD
The Mthatha outfit are tops thanks to a superior goal difference, although five other clubs are on three points as well.
Bucks clobbered Stellenbosch FC by 3-1 at the weekend thanks to a brace by Andile Njokweni and Mazwi Mncube.
Bucks’ current league position is in direct contrast to the position they occupied last season at this stage of the league when they were lying in 14th place.
However, head coach Velile Dyaloyi believes it is too early for them to count their chickens before they hatch on the league title.
According to Dyaloyi, Bucks are far from being what he wants the team to be and he considered their opening game as part of the pre-season.
In fact, Dyaloyi says he does not want to think about winning the league championship yet.
After Bucks were relegation candidates for much of last season – their maiden in the first division – being top of the table is a feat worth celebrating.
But according to Dyaloyi, Bucks needed to focus now more than ever and not get carried away.
“We cannot talk about winning the league just yet having survived relegation by a small margin last season. What is paramount to us right now is to take it a game at a time and be realistic above all.”
Despite the 3-1 drubbing of Stellenbosch being their second biggest win since ascending to the second tier, Dyaloyi insists there is a long way to go before the curtain comes down on the 2016-17 season.
“There is nothing special about this win . It is the first game of the season and I am sure every other team in this league want to see how other teams play,” said Dyaloyi.
“With that said we were better than Stellenbosch FC in terms of creating scoring chances, although we did not convert some that we were supposed to.
“There is still a long way to go though because this thing is a marathon and I feel there are lots of areas where we need to improve, among them being understanding of each other when we have the ball, and our offensive line was not so sharp today, especially during the early stages of the match.”
On Njokweni, who opened his campaign with a chilling brace, Dyaloyi believes it is early days to start singing individual players’ praises.
He said: “It is good that Njokweni scored two goals but the danger with praising players for good performances is what if he delivers in one match and then the same player does not do well in the following match.
“I am happy for Njokweni and I hope he continues with his form in the next match and many others throughout the season.” — zingisam@dispatch.co.za
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