Opinion Sport

[WATCH] It’s now or never: Cape Town Spurs targets Tuks win in Athlone and a return to Mzansi’s elite league

Sizwe Mbebe|Published

Close: Cape Town Spurs celebrate another victory

Everything has been set up just right to mark Cape Town Spurs’ long-awaited return to Premiership diski.

The Urban Warriors earned their nickname once again with Sunday’s emotional 2-1 victory over NB La Masia away at Dobsonville Stadium.

Spurs opened the scoring with Ashley Cupido reaching his target of 15 goals from the penalty spot.

They looked composed only to concede a clumsy penalty and were left unsettled when hosts’ equalised.

They needed Luvuyo Phewa to come in to be a hero with his first and the winner in the dying minutes (2-1).

A draw for Spurs would have meant that Casric Stars would have remained number one and would need them to lose or draw in this Sunday’s season-ending match day.

That draw would have also kept third-placed Polokwane City alive in the championship race, nobody at Ikamva has got time to be thinking and doing that kind of maths going into a match with a league title.

They won’t need to after the Warriors managed to seal the deal on the road, and return home to their own home ground, Athlone Stadium, in the season’s final league match against AmaTuks sitting nicely up there in the NFD table.

I’m already feeling all kinds of nostalgia, thinking back to the all-Cape Town Absa Cup final in 2015 at the historic South African football arena.

That was the last time I remember watching a match of such high significance at Athlone, I don’t know about you.

This moment is so important because it will be the first ever NFD champion crowned under the new name, Motsepe Foundation Championship. And it could be done in front of our own eyes, and it could be one of our own.

People often laugh when I say that, like our capital city situation here in Mzansi, Athlone rivals many football stadiums in iconic memories experienced at that stadium over the many years from Federation days up to now.

The Urban Warriors have written their own big piece of history there this season without a doubt. They have put themselves in a position to win promotion back to the SA top flight.

Every other weekend, the Warriors have put teams to the sword there 12 out of the 14 games with attacking pair Cupido and Therlo Moosa making sure with 26 of the team’s 41 goals in the league.

A league-winning season could also be a moment for the club’s office to celebrate for the good football business they’ve made to make the campaign a success.

Hitman: Boitumelo Radiopane

On loan Boitumelo Radiopane has got Orlando Pirates fans yearning for his return to Orlando Pirates because of his goal-scoring rate at Ikamva.

Phewa might have found it difficult to break into the team with Cupido, Moosa and Radiopane in such fine form, but he has proven to be a trump card and that was worth the risk the club took on him despite the lack of regular football action in the six months before he arrived from his parent club Mamelodi Sundowns.

The experience and stability brought in by Ikamva-made veterans Clayton Daniels, Granwald Scott and Nazeer Allie makes this story that much more beautiful and meaningful.

I can’t think of many better ways to wind down the clock on one’s career than being part of your boyhood club’s rise back to the top.

In-form: Clayton Daniels

Morne Nel, Jarrod Moroole and Michael Morton might not be club veterans, but their experience brought in ‘from the outside’ added to the culture at Ikamva.

Meanwhile, the new breed of Ikamva-made ballers have also matured over the past few years of disappointment, with the likes of Lincoln Vver, Khaya Mfecane, Liam Bern, Chumani Butsaka and Leo Thethani all showing signs of maturity with key roles in the team.

Fill Athlone Stadium and make it red and white for Mother’s Day is the loud rallying call from Ikamva.

There are no ifs or buts about what needs to happen on Sunday, the Warriors plan to do it for themselves and leave everyone else to sort themselves out according to head coach Shaun Bartlett.

The former Bafana Bafana striker, who made his debut and won the league with Spurs back in the early 90s, says: “That’s pretty much been the philosophy for the whole season.

Philosophy: Coach Shaun Bartlett

“Whichever game we play, we have to go and ensure we control what’s in our hands.

“We can’t be worried or thinking about other results or other teams, we have to do our best and try to get the result that we need and play the opponent that’s in front of us.”

He adds that their home form has been the “foundation” for their success in this campaign, saying: “The credit and rewards will always go to the attacking players for the goals, but I think the clean sheets we had at home, especially that long (winning) run we had at Athlone.

“From preseason this was the goal, and now it’s in our hands to finish the job come Sunday.”

FINAL NFD FIXTURES

All matches on Sunday at 3pm

Hungry Lions v Magesi, JDR Stars v Platinum City Rovers, Polokwane City v Pretoria Caillies, Cape Town Spurs v Pretoria University, All Stars v Casric Stars, Uthongathi v NB La Masia, Venda v Black Leopards, TTM v Baroka.

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