ONS CITY EN WAG

CAPE Town City’s interim coach Diogo Peral is dik unhappy because his team now have to wait until the conclusion of the Golden Arrows and SuperSport United fixture at the end of regular season to have their Premiership fate decided.

City finished on 27 points after a 0-0 draw against Kaapse neighbours Stellenbosch FC on Saturday at Cape Town Stadium. 

But despite being a point above the relegation zone, they will only know whether they will contest the playoffs after Arrows and SuperSport, who trail City by a point, play 45 minutes of a fixture that was stopped due to loadshedding back in February already.

Peral says: “The reason these games are all played at the same time is so that teams don’t get to choose the result they want.

“The very reason those games are to avoid this and then on top of it it's the two teams that are fighting relegation that get to play against each other. 

“So, it’s a bit of a joke actually, but it is what it is and if we start with all the theories and all the negatives, it's not going to help us in the next game.”

Peral has adopted a pragmatic approach to the unique scenario facing his team and has already instructed his support staff to prepare his team to contest the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Stellies coach Steve Barker is proud of his team’s achievements this season, but is not resting on his laurels after his team ensured qualification for the Caf Confederation Cup again. 

Stellies claimed third place in the league for the second successive season on Saturday to conclude yet another highly successful campaign for the Winelands club.

But Barker is already looking ahead to next season in order for his team to stay ahead of the chasing pack with the confirmation of new signings of Under-20 Afcon winner Siviwe Nkwali and Motsepe Foundation Championship top goalscorer Muzomuhle Khanyi.