Kings stalk NFD leaders Highlands

Coach plays down promotion talk

Despite being one of the National First Division pacesetters, Royal Kings coach Simo Dladla thinks it is still too early to talk about promotion race.

After finishing 11th last term, Kings have emerged as one of the best teams in the NFD thus far, having managed to collect 18 points from 12 matches. They are fifth on the table and five points behind leaders Highlands Park.

However, Dladla feels there is still a long way to go in the race for promotion, adding that even teams who are at the bottom can still fight for promotion at the end of the season.

“We have started very well but I think it is too early to talk about promotion. The race is still wide open. Even those teams who are bottom can still fight to go to the Premiership at the end of the season,” Dladla told Sowetan yesterday.

“In the second half of the season we do not know what will happen. Some teams will start dropping points and some will start capitalising on that. Maybe after five games in the second half [of the season], we can start to talk about promotion,” he said.

The 37-year-old mentor has also praised the level of competitiveness in the second-tier, citing that the unpredictability of the NFD makes the league more fascinating.

“What is more interesting about the NFD is that it is unpredictable. Who would have thought Ubuntu [Cape Town] would beat Mthatha Bucks 40? Each and every team is willing to fight and that makes the league more interesting.’’