Celtic aim to put halt to bad run
VISITORS Bloemfontein Celtic will be desperate to return to winning ways when they face Orlando Pirates in their final match of the year at the Orlando Stadium tonight.
Celtic saw their winless run in the league extend to four matches after they were on the receiving end of a 3-0 thumping from Ajax Cape Town at home on Saturday.
Siwelele caretaker coach Lehlohonolo Seema will be returning to Orlando stadium for the first time as a coach and he said yesterday that he had his eye set on the three points that will be up for grabs.
“It will be good to go back to Orlando Stadium this time around not as a player but as an opposition coach sitting on the other bench‚” said the former Pirates defender.
“I will be the one that will be steering the team (on Tuesday).
“There’s no emotions and there is nothing to prove against Pirates.
“I only have good memories on that field and for the Orlando Pirates family.
“We are on the wrong side of the table.
“We are fighting for a point and every point to us it’s like oxygen.
“Three points is what we need to give to our supporters so that they can have something to talk about during the holidays because the results have not been coming.
“We are going there to fight for points and Pirates are a big team.
“They are playing well and their attack in the league is very fearless.”
Celtic are 13th on the standings‚ with 12 points from 13 games‚ while Pirates are seventh with 18 points from 12 matches.
The last time Celtic won a game was against Baroka FC in a 2-1 win at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on November 24.
Seema’s charges took a point off Kaizer Chiefs after a goalless draw at Soccer City last week and will fancy their chances of at least escaping with a point against another Soweto team that hasn’t fired on all cylinders this season.
Meanwhile, Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler could be without five of his first team regulars when the league leaders travel to Bethlehem for a pre-Christmas meeting with Free State Stars in their final match of 2016 tomorrow.
Definitely out is talismanic captain and top-scorer Lebogang Manyama‚ who is suspended along with Austrian midfielder Roland Putsche‚ a player who has grown in influence over the past few weeks.
The versatile Mpho Matsi also picked up a nasty head injury in the 1-1 draw with SuperSport United on Friday evening and is a doubt‚ along with impressive forward Sibusiso Masina and experienced defender Robyn Johannes.
“Lebogang Manyama and Roland Putsche are out with suspension‚” Tinkler revealed.
“We need to see how [Mpho] Matsi is with a head injury. [Sibusiso Masina] has a bit of a knock and was struggling [against SuperSport].
“Robynn [Johannes] and quite a few other guys are feeling the affects … so its important now how we rest them.”
City needed a last-gasp equaliser from Manyama to secure a point against SuperSport that kept them top of the table and Tinkler knows a victory will keep them there through the festive season break.
They were handsome 4-1 winners over Stars in a home Telkom Knockout semifinal last month‚ but meeting Ea Lla Koto away in Bethlehem is an altogether different proposition.
While they won’t quite be riding into town on a donkey‚ Tinkler says it is a complicated place for his side to get to.
“It’s another tough trip. It’s always difficult to go to the Free State particularly from Cape Town as we have to go via Jo’burg‚ but we are in a good space now‚” the coach said.
“The result [against SuperSport United] was important for us. The disappointment of not getting a result against Platinum [Stars] is obviously in the back of my mind.
“It’s important for us to go there and try and get a point‚ but that will be a difficult task.”
Struggling Stars have not lost at home since the end of September‚ with three wins and two draws in that run. — TMG Digital