Cape Town Spurs coach Shaun Bartlett says tomorrow’s PSL promotion/relegation playoff encounter against Maritzburg United at the Athlone Stadium (3pm) is a possible decider in the mini-league.
After playing their first of four matches in the playoffs, Spurs and Maritzburg both have three points after wins against Casric on Sunday and Wednesday respectively. The Team of Choice are first thanks to a one-goal difference while the Urban Warriors are second with Casric in third with zero points after two games.
Bartlett believes the importance of Saturday’s game can sway the direction of the playoffs as both teams will stand a good chance of dictating terms at the top with a result.
“This game, especially after Wednesday’s result, you can say it’s a cup final because it probably is much between the two of us pushing for that number one position,” Bartlett said when speaking to Sowetan.
“The foundation over the 30-game season was our home form, from the 15 games we won 12, drew 1 and lost two. It’s very important, but it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that it’s just a normal game but at the end of the day we want three points,” he said.
Spurs missed out on automatic promotion due to an inferior goal difference to Polokwane City’s. In the opening game against Casric, Bartlett’s charges missed a lot of chances and he has urged them to bury their opportunities in front of goal as they can come into play in the later stages of the playoffs.
“If you look at how our normal season ended, we were on the same points with Polokwane, but we lost on goal difference. Again, it’s something we cannot put enough emphasis on, we have to put the ball in the back of the net,” he said.
Maritzburg put on an impressive display on Wednesday against Casric, winning 2-0 thanks to a brace from Rowan Human. After watching that performance, Spurs are wary of the attacking threat Fadlu Davids’ team poses.
“They are a very strong side going forward, they have a lot of attacking speedy players, so it’s going to be a different ball game to what we had against Casric and it’s a PSL team. We’ll give them respect but we don’t fear them. We have to just do our business and play to the best of our ability,” Bartlett said.
Promotion Playoff fixtures:
Tomorrow: Cape Town Spurs v Maritzburg United, Athlone Stadium, 3pm
June 7: Cape Town Spurs v Casric Stars, Athlone Stadium, 3pm
June 10: Casric Stars v Maritzburg United, Solomon Mahlangu Stadium, 3pm
June 14: Maritzburg United v Cape Town Spurs, Harry Gwala Stadium, 7.30pm
Spurs against Maritzburg is like cup final, says Bartlett
Coach urges his charges to take their chance
Image: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Cape Town Spurs coach Shaun Bartlett says tomorrow’s PSL promotion/relegation playoff encounter against Maritzburg United at the Athlone Stadium (3pm) is a possible decider in the mini-league.
After playing their first of four matches in the playoffs, Spurs and Maritzburg both have three points after wins against Casric on Sunday and Wednesday respectively. The Team of Choice are first thanks to a one-goal difference while the Urban Warriors are second with Casric in third with zero points after two games.
Bartlett believes the importance of Saturday’s game can sway the direction of the playoffs as both teams will stand a good chance of dictating terms at the top with a result.
“This game, especially after Wednesday’s result, you can say it’s a cup final because it probably is much between the two of us pushing for that number one position,” Bartlett said when speaking to Sowetan.
“The foundation over the 30-game season was our home form, from the 15 games we won 12, drew 1 and lost two. It’s very important, but it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that it’s just a normal game but at the end of the day we want three points,” he said.
Spurs missed out on automatic promotion due to an inferior goal difference to Polokwane City’s. In the opening game against Casric, Bartlett’s charges missed a lot of chances and he has urged them to bury their opportunities in front of goal as they can come into play in the later stages of the playoffs.
“If you look at how our normal season ended, we were on the same points with Polokwane, but we lost on goal difference. Again, it’s something we cannot put enough emphasis on, we have to put the ball in the back of the net,” he said.
Maritzburg put on an impressive display on Wednesday against Casric, winning 2-0 thanks to a brace from Rowan Human. After watching that performance, Spurs are wary of the attacking threat Fadlu Davids’ team poses.
“They are a very strong side going forward, they have a lot of attacking speedy players, so it’s going to be a different ball game to what we had against Casric and it’s a PSL team. We’ll give them respect but we don’t fear them. We have to just do our business and play to the best of our ability,” Bartlett said.
Promotion Playoff fixtures:
Tomorrow: Cape Town Spurs v Maritzburg United, Athlone Stadium, 3pm
June 7: Cape Town Spurs v Casric Stars, Athlone Stadium, 3pm
June 10: Casric Stars v Maritzburg United, Solomon Mahlangu Stadium, 3pm
June 14: Maritzburg United v Cape Town Spurs, Harry Gwala Stadium, 7.30pm
Leopards deny buying All-Stars status
Agent downplays Chivaviro link to Richards Bay
It's up to the rest to catch up with Sundowns - Klate
Sundowns rule again but Bucs encouraged by two cups
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Related articles
Latest Videos