Isaacs a hit at new NFD club

FC CAPE TOWN won their first game of the year beating Real Kings 1-0 in Durban and back-to-back wins sees the African Beasts pressing hard for a top-eight placing in the National First Division standings.

Town broke the deadlock in the second half with striker Waseem Isaacs scoring on debut. He was signed from Cape Town All Stars during the January transfer window.

Apart from Stellenbosch FC, the city’s NFD teams have been battling, but Town’s third win from four starts moves them up a place to 11th.

Santos lost 1-0 to fellow city strugglers All Stars at the Athlone Stadium on Friday night for their 11th defeat from 16 starts, leaving the People’s Team, who have only won once, at the foot of the table and staring firmly at the prospect of relegation.

All Stars’ third win of the campaign takes their points tally to 16, four more than second-bottom Magesi FC who moved off the bottom following a 2-2 home draw with Witbank Spurs.

Stars remain in the bottom three but are four points clear of the danger zone.

Milano United welcomed Black Leopards to the Athlone Stadium on Sunday and lost 2-1, while the Cape’s fifth team, Stellenbosch FC, shared the points in a 1-1 result at Royal Eagles.

Stellenbosch drop a place to fifth but are only three points behind second-placed Eagles.

Table-toppers Thanda Royal Zulu defeated visitors Mbombela United 2-1 at the Umhlathuze Sports Complex to keep their unbeaten record intact.

The men from Richards Bay have amassed 38 points and enjoy a 12-point lead and appear set for league honours and promotion to the PSL.

Milano coach Boebie Solomon did not strengthen his squad during the transfer window.

After a home defeat at the weekend, he said: “Where do you source better players than what we have,” he said.

“We looked, found no one, so we go with what we’ve got and hope that the boys make the necessary improvement.

“Credit to them for putting in the hard yards.

“We’ve worked really hard on our weaknesses and aim to improve on these deficiencies. We let in 30 goals in 15 games which is way too much.

“Also, we must give the boys up front a better supply.

“That comes down to looking after our ball and being patient in the build-ups.

“We’re not far away from being a better product as long as we keep working hard.

“As things stand, we’re in 13th place, which is a bit of a worry, but we have many games left to play and I’m confident we’ll hold on to our second-tier status.”