High-flying Relatives FC bank on experience for regional play-offs

Buffalo City regional champions Relatives FC will depend on their experienced ABC Motsepe League recruits when they travel to Maletswai (formerly Aliwal North) to contest the SAB Eastern Cape Regional Play-offs on Saturday and Sunday, according to their head coach, Athenkosi Paul.

With two spots up for grabs in the Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe League after the relegation of Bhisho Stars and Tede United, Mdantsane-based Relatives will be hoping to earn promotion to the third tier of SA Football.

“This weekend in the play-offs, we will depend on the experienced players we signed from the Motsepe league and also the players who played in last season’s playoffs because they have played at that high intensity and will have the composure to carry us in the big moments of the tournament,” Paul said.

“After we were knocked out in the play-offs last season, we saw the mistakes we had made as a team.

“Before the start of this season I had some discussions with the chairman on how we can take that and improve the standard of our play.

“We came to the conclusion that we must recruit players from the Motsepe league so they can add to what we have and help us going forward,” Paul said.

The other seven EC Regional winners are Lady Grey (Joe Gqabi), Jacaranda (OR Tambo), Centane United (Amathole), Amaxesibe (Alfred Nzo), Roaring Tigers (Nelson Mandela Bay), MK Academy (Chris Hani) and United Brothers (Sarah Baartman).

The eight teams will be divided into two groups, each consisting of four teams, and the sides will play each other on a round robin basis.

The regional play-offs draw is expected to be done on Friday afternoon. Relatives had an impressive season, topping the Buffalo City log with a record-breaking 86 points. They scored a whopping 141 goals (averaging 4.8 per match) conceding just 29.

Paul said his team would not be conservative in the play-offs.

“We are not going to change our style of play because we are in the play-offs.

“We will keep being an attacking team — the attacking style is the reason we got more than a hundred goals.”