Butterworth pull clear of the quicksand

Butterworth chairperson Banzi “Bra Ace” Siyongwana can now breathe a sigh of relief as his side campaigning in the ABC Motsepe League is out of the woods.

Butterworth was lingering in the relegation zone for weeks on end but, after collecting seven points in their three recent games, Siyongwana will have less strain on his shoulders as they’re unlikely to be relegated in the third-tier league.

According to Siyongwana, it’s been a tough season for them, having to fight to stay in the league without a head coach but they were able to better their position on the log.

Butterworth are currently sitting at number 12 with 23 points.

“We have started preparing for next season because we’ve done our best to avoid the chop in the league.

“Relegation has been on my mind for a while now, but I don’t think where we are now we’ll get relegated. I’m just relieved we in the clear now. We are going to focus on a way forward now,” said Siyongwana.

He said out of seven games from eight fixtures remaining in the second round of the thirdtier league, Butterworth only needed six points to make sure they return to the league next season.

“I’m sure that we’ll get six points in seven games, so definitely we’ll finish on 30 points or somewhere there.

“The boys have really showed they want to play in this league because the situation we were in was bad, but they were able to come out of it.

“Our coach, Pikolomzo Noqazo, left us because he recently got a job and now we’ve brought back Abongile Dunga.

“[He is] a young, enthusiastic coach who is in university and he’s been helping us. He’s very passionate and talented, plus he knows his way around the players.”

Siyongwana thanked the municipal manager at Mnquma Municipality for the support they’ve given to his team.

“If it wasn’t for Mnquma Municipality, the team would have collapsed because they came in a time where they really needed assistance. We as Butterworth want to say thank you to the municipality. Because of them we are still playing in the league.”

We are going to focus on a way forward now

Banzi ‘Bra Ace’ Siyongwana Butterworth chairperson