Park are taking the high road in NFD race

HIGHLANDS PARK could be playing top-flight football later this year. The Lions of the North have 38 points and enjoy a six-point lead over Real Kings.

Jomo Cosmos and league newcomers Tshakhuma Tsha Madzihandila are next best on 30 points each, while Stellenbosch FC complete the NFD’s top five with 26 points.

Down south, Ubuntu Cape Town are bottom. It’s a position the men from the Mother City have held for 11 weeks while being in the drop zone for 14 weeks, and that’s courting disaster for the club known as FC Cape Town last season.

Ubuntu had managed a solitary win from 16 outings before the Christmas break, but then came a change in fortunes in mid-January. They beat then top-five sides Witbank Spurs and Mbombela United to somewhat ease their plight, shifted up a place, but then they got a 3-0 pasting from Park to return to familiar territory.

A point earned last weekend in a goalless derby draw with ninth-placed Cape Town All Stars, while valuable, wasn’t enough to leapfrog Mthatha Bucks, who were bottom before a 2-0 home win over Mbombela United saw the Eastern Cape side move above Ubtuntu.

That said, both sides have it all to do to climb out of the danger zone. Royal Eagles, Richards Bay, Super Eagles and Uthongathi FC are the other teams hoping to hold on to their second-tier status a game shy of two-thirds of the season completed. Park entertain Royal Eagles today mindful of the fact that they’ve played to draws in their last four home encounters.

The pressure may be getting to the frontrunners because the Tembisa side could only manage a point last time out in a goalless effort hosting Bay.

Time will tell. They did edge Eagles of KZN 2-1 in the first round. Eagles, who have scored the most goals in the NFD (32) as well as having conceded the most (33), lost to Black Leopards last weekend and in the process failed to score for the first time in seven matches.

Ubuntu welcome Black Leopards to Parow Park. The first meeting between the two sides ended 2-2 in Thohoyandou. Leopards have only lost one of their four outings in 2018 and have climbed to seventh.

Cape Town All Stars are away to Bay and will fancy their chances again having won the first encounter 1-0. Stars are on a four-game unbeaten run but the one-time frontrunners still remain in the wrong half of the table. The Bay have yet to lose to All Stars at home and will be chasing a fourth straight win.

Stellenbosch are away to Uthongathi tomorrow. They drew 1- 1 first time round. Sammy Troughton is back as Stellis head coach and is unbeaten in both starts to date.