Black Leopards’ claws clipped on KZN tour
Sibongiseni Gumbi
Black Leopards’ charge for top spot in the National First Division (NFD) hit a snag this past week as the Limpopo team failed to pick up a win on their tour of KwaZulu-Natal.
Lidoda Duvha came back with just one out of six possible points after spending a week in KZN where they lost to Real Kings last weekend and drew 1-1 with leaders Thanda Royal Zulu in midweek.
The dropped points denied the Polokwane-based former Absa Premiership team a chance of narrowing the gap and closing in on Amabhubesi, who are nine points clear.
Leopards coach Jean-Francois Luscuito was however not too bothered about the bad trip, saying they will fight on.
“It’s important for us to go home and relax after the long journey. We will at least have some time to fix the errors we made. We must fight on,” he told the media after Wednesday’s match.
Leopards remain second but should be worried as a team who seem to have hit form at the right time, AmaZulu FC, have climbed up to third, just two points behind.
Usuthu made their promotion intentions clear by winning their last two matches impressively, beating Magesi FC 3-0 and KZN neighbours Royal Eagles 3-1.
Eagles meanwhile have been on a steady decline which has not been helped by the absence of their coach Kosta Papic, who is said to have travelled to his home in Serbia for medical attention for an undisclosed ailment. Joel Masutha has been on the bench in Papic’s absence.
While the charismatic Papic has been away, the team have slipped to fifth in the standings and with a clash against Thanda this weekend, things could get even worse.
Amabhubesi coach Roger Sikhakhane has targeted nine points in their last six matches and will be looking to exploit Eagles’ vulnerability caused by the unavailability of their head coach.
At the bottom, Magesi FC eased their relegation worries with a 2-0 win over a fancied Jomo Cosmos side, denting their promotion aspirations in the process. Magesi could further put themselves in a better position to avoid the axe if they beat fellow strugglers FC Cape Town this afternoon.