The ABC Motsepe League Western Cape will reach its climax on Sunday (8 May 2022) when recently crowned Stream A winners, Zizwe United, lock horns with Royal Roads’ young Stream B winners, FN Rangers, in the play-offs. The venue of the titanic clash is yet to be confirmed.
The winner of the epic encounter will represent the Western Cape in the national play-offs (to be contested by all nine provincial winners) to determine the two sides that will earn promotion to the GladAfrica Championships next season.
The Nyanga-based Zizwe faced some stiff competition for the top spot in Stream A from Grassy Park United, who beat Santos 1-0 at William Herbert on Saturday.. But it just wasn’t enough, with Zizwe pulling off the same scoreline against Cape Town Spurs at Ikamva – making them the champions and putting them in the play-offs.
It was a tough title decider, with Spurs putting up a real fight in Stream A.
“The game itself didn’t go according to how we planned,” noted coach Julius Dube, the mastermind behind Zizwe’s successful run in Stream A, after the game. “The first half belonged to us because we controlled most of it; and the second half was theirs. They were aggressive, tactically they were disciplined, they threw everything at us. The tension and all I think it overwhelmed some of the players.”
But that didn’t stop them.
“We dug deep in terms of our defending and just simply protecting that lead. The tie got a bit risky as they hit the bar towards the end of the game and could have gotten that equalising goal. They created a lot of chances and made an effort in the second half. But in terms of the result, we are happy, we got the three points, we can’t complain.”
That doesn’t mean they’re quite satisfied just yet, though.
“I’m happy with winning the League, but there is still a lot ahead,” Dube notes. “We still need to be ourselves because we were not today especially in that second half. Let’s move on, we haven’t done anything yet. We need to be champions of the Western Cape province for us to have achieved anything.”
They’ll have to get through Stream B winners Rangers first, though – and Rangers coach Arreshaat Daniels is doing his homework.
“They’ve got all the experience and are most probably the favourites, seeing that they have played at the play-offs before. This is new to FN Rangers, and they are a formidable side. But I ‘ve watched a game or two, and we have seen some strengths and some weaknesses that we need to nullify and expose – and we have been preparing accordingly.”
Coach Daniels goes on with his assessment of Zizwe and shows his appreciation for the team they are about to face.
“Zizwe has definitely been the most consistent team within their stream,” he said, “I respect them, and we are looking forward to facing them. We feel confident that we are ready, and I’m sure they feel the same.”
Both teams are ready to go, and just waiting to hear from SAFA Western Cape about the venue.
“I just want to wish everyone at FN Rangers and Zizwe all the best – and to remind them: come Sunday the team that has prepared the most and wants it the most is the one that is going to be victorious – and we really want it.
Edited by Nicklaus Kruger
