Dolphins stalemate sink all hopes Tornado held for playoff chances

TORNADO’s hopes of joining the National First Division went out the window yesterday when group rivals The Dolphins drew 1-all against Buya Msuthu at Turfloop University Fields in Polokwane.

The Mdantsane-based ABC Motsepe League outfit needed both sides to play a goalless draw in order to stay in the running to gain promotion to the second-tier league, as they had the same number of goals with The Dolphins.

But those hopes were dashed after the undesired 1-1 draw between the Dolphins and Buya Msuthu, which put The Dolphins on three goals. This follows the two-all draw they played against Tshepo Motsoeneng’s charges on Tuesday.

“I won’t lie to you, we are out of the race now, because in our group no one won their games.

“All of us drew, and unfortunately for Tornado, yesterday’s draw was 11, and if it happened to be a goalless draw, we would have been through to the next stage.

“But then Dolphins have more goals than we have,” Tornado chairman Simphiwo “Mawawa” Nyobo told the Dispatch.

Nyobo applauded his players and also gave credit to Motsoeneng, who pushed his team through to the playoffs, with one loss in the first round of the third-tier league against E C Bees.

“The boys gave us what we needed to see and I’m very happy with the way they conducted themselves.

“And I’m sure even the coaches are satisfied with the way they played their two games.

“Because we didn’t lose a single game, and our record of one loss in the league was evidence. We didn’t win the league by fluke.”

He said for now it was back to the drawing board, where they were to map out a way forward for next season, which promises to a much more competitive one, with former NFD side Mthatha Bucks rejoining them in the third-tier league.

Nyobo said it was surprising to see how other teams were supported by their municipalities, “unlike us”. “The advantage of many teams that are here at the playoffs is that their

municipalities have been involved with everything they do.

“For instance, if you take Umvoti, they have their municipality officials present assisting them. Even Mangaung also have officials from their metro helping them.

“So if you looked at these teams, they all had a backing that gave them muscle.

“And I want to thank the provincial government, because if they didn’t help with the accommodation and transport we were going to struggle.

“The ten days they sorted for us was of great help.”

He said they have learnt to prepare for playoffs very early.

“We can’t wait until we win the league. As long as we can ensure that we have a strong team we should start preparing everything and not leave things to the last minute.”

Yesterday’s results: Buya Msuthu 1 The Dolphins 1

Maccabi 0 T S Sporting 0. Maccabi are through to the semifinals.