Highlands ready for a ‘cup final’
MATCH AGAINST BAROKA FC A ‘SIX-POINTER’ Both clubs fighting tooth-and-nail to avoid relegation.
Highlands Park midfielder Sandile Khwela is under no illusions about the importance of the side’s relegation six-pointer against Baroka FC tomorrow night.
“This game in obviously a cup final for us, we need to win it, with all due respect to Baroka, but we need the three points.”
Both teams won promotion to the Absa Premiership last season, but both now find their top- flight status on a knife-edge with two matches left. Highlands Park did manage to lift themselves off the bottom of the table, sending Baroka there after a 1-0 win in another six-pointer against Chippa United on Friday night. Baroka remained in the automatic relegation spot as they went down 3-2 to Golden Arrows the following day.
Kgoloko Thobejane’s side trail Chippa on goal difference, with Highlands just a point ahead in 14th.
Baroka might have earned the title of giantkillers in the past, thanks to their bold displays when playing against the likes of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in cup competitions, but they have mostly failed to reproduce those performances this season.
Highlands come into tomorrow night’s clash with the positive track record of being unbeaten against Baroka in their last three encounters – in the first round of this season’s Premiership, the Lions of the North won 2-1, in a match in which Baroka were awarded three penalties and missed two of them. In the 2015/16 season both NFD games ended in draws.
“To be honest we have only won once against Baroka. We can’t underestimate them because of the result against them in the first round,” added Khwela.
Still, Khwela is confident his side can win. The midfielder said the game against Baroka is a fan’s favourite much like a Pirates/Mamelodi Sundowns match, because of its explosive nature.
“Someone could look at us (Highlands) and Baroka and think these are small teams, but we have attracted fans because of the performance that we give whenever we clash, we beat them 2-1 the last time around ... the derbies in our country have the same hype as our game.”
The man who has cemented his place in Highlands’ midfield has pinned their survival hopes on the game against Baroka as he doesn’t want the last league game against Mamelodi Sundowns to decide their fate, with club boss Sinky Mnisi saying one victory out of the two matches they still have to play would save them from relegation.
“We have Sundowns in the last match, that is far away. We need to look at the next match which is against Baroka, that is the one we need to win,” said Khwela.