Ekurhuleni SAB League new boys Verbal Warning’s club director Sipho Shabalala says the possible cancellation of the 2019/2020 season would be like dying to his club’s players, who were high-flying throughout their maiden season in the fourth-tier until recently. The Tsakane-based club had dropped to fourth on the log when the season got postponed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, after going winless in their last three matches. They were, however, eight points behind the log leading Highlands Park with seven matches left before the end of the season.
Shabalala says there were signs of improvement in their recent performances, which makes the postponement all the more disappointing.
“We would be very disappointed (if the season were to be cancelled), because the boys were very determined; to them it’s do or die. I don’t know if they can accept that now we’re dying because we were there to do; now if we didn’t do it then it means we die. I hope that things will get back to being alright so we can continue. “
Shabalala also says losing players during the season due to their academic commitments was also part of the reason for their recent slump. Verbal last won a match on February 21 when they beat fellow newcomers Bedfordview CC 4-0 away from home, before their barren spell of three games, in which they lost to another newly-promoted side Molefe FC in Vosloorus, drew against neighbours XI Experience at the Kwa-Thema Stadium, and lost to Jacoba FC at home, at the Tsakane Stadium.
“Also, when you’ve had a good start, the other teams now start to look at you, all of them start to reinforce so that they come at you armed, so it won’t be the same. So that’s where you also have to up the standard; but we’ve seen that and it’s not that much of a problem,” insists Shabalala.
Shabalala also attributes their good start to the season, which saw them occupy the top spot on the log at some point, to a positive attitude.
“At the beginning, we didn’t tell ourselves that we are new to this league; we are not new to football. We played with determination and told ourselves that we are there to compete, not that we’re still new in the league, you know those kind of things? The boys we have are also experienced because they have played at some of the teams here in Kwatsaduza, but it happened that some of those teams got sold and went away, so they were left without teams.
“So they want to prove that we do need a team in Kwatsaduza (which will compete at the highest level), and that not having a team is not because we don’t have talent; we have got talent here, we’re just unfortunate to not have people who will lead and see where the problem is, so we can have a strong team in Kwatsaduza. That’s the only thing.
“They (players) do realize that we really appreciate, which is why I wish for the best and for the league to resume,” adds Shabalala.
Comentários