'Too early to talk of Umoya's promotion'

Surrendering automatic promotion to Swallows on the last day of last season and failing to make amends in the play-offs with Ajax Cape Town did not dampen the spirit of veteran striker Eleazar Rodgers.

Now in the books of another Mother City outfit, Cape Umoya, Rodgers has already netted twice from three games this season. His early blistering form shows he shrugged off the disappointment he endured with Ajax (now known as Cape Town Spurs) last term.

The 35-year-old well-travelled striker’s nine goals in the league and four in the play-offs proved inadequate to aid the Urban Warriors return to the top-flight. However, retiring is still not an option for the lanky forward.

“I will keep on going as long as there’s an opportunity. I want to lead by example, show the upcoming players the way. It’s a privilege to be still playing at my age,’’ Rodgers told Sowetan yesterday.

“It will be very good if I can help Umoya win promotion. I fell short last season but it’s still possible this season even though it won’t be easy. I can’t retire now. I haven’t thought about that at all.’’

Umoya top the GladAfrica standings after winning all three of their opening games against TS Sporting (3-2), Free State Stars (2-0) and Steenberg (2-1) respectively. Even so, Rodgers feels it’s still very early to say they’re promotion candidates.

“We’re a relatively new team with so many new players. We’re still on a building phase. So I think it’s a lot to ask for to say we can go all the way to win promotion. But we’re happy that we’ve won all three of our opening games,’’ said Rodgers.

Rodgers has also set his sights on bagging the Golden Boot accolade this season, drawing motivation from his ex-teammate Abednigo Mosiatlhaga, who clinched it with 18 strikes last season.

“A thought of fighting for the Golden Boot has definitely crossed my mind. Last season I was playing alongside Abednigo [at Ajax]. We also had a good team and everyone was scoring,’’ said Rodgers.

“He managed to score a lot of goals and I did eventually take the baton from him in the play-offs... I started scoring and I ended up with 13 goals. So it is really possible for me to win the Golden Boot this season, especially with my experience.’’

GladAfrica results

PLK City 1, Royal 0; FS Stars 0, Callies 0; Sekhukhune 0, Richards Bay 1; AmaTuks 1, Pondo Chiefs 0; Sporting 1, JDR 1; Umoya 2, Steenberg 1; Uthongathi 0, All Stars 1.