Bucks eye ABC crown

Mthatha Bucks coach Sibusiso Mapompo thinks it is possible to win all their remaining games in the ABC Motsepe League and be crowned champions once again when the season ends next month.

Mapompo, who has been with Bucks since their National First Division days, said after having struggled to adapt to the third-tier, no one anticipated that Bucks would be sitting at fifth position on the log-standings with 47 points at this stage.

All the top five teams – Tornado, Bizana Pondo Stars, PE Stars, Sibanye and Bucks – have 47 points. They are separated by goal difference.

“We are hopeful that we will come out tops when the season concludes, because we’ve come very far to get to this point we are in.

“We all have the same number of points, but Tornado has got a game in hand which puts them at an advantage.

“But we hope that at the end we will be the ones that will be rejoicing,” said Mapompo.

The former Bucks player admitted it was not going to be a walk in the park to win the league on their first attempt, after they were relegated from the National First Division last season.

As if that was not enough, Bucks started losing a pool of players who went for paying jobs at other NFD clubs. These included their ex-general manager, Luxolo Matikinca, who is now with TS Galaxy.

“We know it won’t be easy and we still have important games we need to play, but we do have experienced players.

“And the quality is there in the team to deal with the pressure that is coming our way. We are going to play against Butterworth.

“They might be struggling on the log-standings [sitting at 11th position with 23 points], but that doesn’t mean we have to take them for granted.

“The biggest misconception in football is that people think if you are playing a struggling team, on paper you are going to win that game unchallenged.

“Which is untrue, because those struggling teams are fighting for dear life – survival – and those teams have nothing to lose when they play a competing side. And sometimes when you play a team like that, they give their best and they play without any fear.”

“For instance, we’ve seen Highbury [at number 10 on the log with 25 points] playing against PE Stars, and judging from that game, there’s a lot of tough competition.”

And the quality is there in the team to deal with the pressure that is coming our way