Orbit College coach Pogiso Makhoye is targeting six points in the last three matches before the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) recess in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, Orbit are still leading with 25 points, two ahead of second-place Baroka, having played the same number of points.
They will host Magesi tomorrow at Olympia Park at 3.30pm in one of the three remaining matches, with Makhoye aiming to reach the 30 points mark before the end of the year.
“We are planning to reach our target of 30 points before we close for Afcon,” Makhoye told Sowetan yesterday.
“It is achievable. We got nine points to play for, so if we can get six points out of nine, I would say the boys have overachieved.”
Orbit’s remaining matches are against Magesi, Platinum Rovers and the University of Pretoria. They head into the game against Magesi tomorrow after suffering two successive defeats in the league against Casric Stars and the Nedbank Cup qualifier to JDR Stars.
But Makhoye doesn’t see that as a crisis, insisting they have been in this situation before and he expects his side to bounce back tomorrow.
“We lost two games before in a row, so it is not the first time and we always come back. The confidence is still high because we cannot be a bad team in just two games,” he said.
“I mean, we put ourselves where we are today and we still believe in these boys and we still give them confidence. We will prepare well for Magesi and we will give them the respect they deserve because they are one of the competitors.
“We will go to Olympia Park and fight for three points.”
The coach also reflected on their previous defeats, saying they were unlucky to lose those matches.
“The pitch we were playing [against Casric after losing 6-1 at Giyani Stadium] was not so good, it was dry but it’s a lesson. We learned that even Manchester City can lose six, Manchester United can lose six. Who are we? It’s part of the game and we learn from that.
“The Nedbank one, we dominated the game and we created a lot of chances. There was one v one, but the ball could not hit the net.
“They only got a chance in the second half and they scored. So, it was not our day. We take it as a team and we move on.”
Fixtures
All the matches will start at 3.30pm
Friday: Callies v Rovers, TUT
Saturday: Upington v JDR, Mxolisi Dicky Jacobs; Orbit v Magesi, Olympia Park; Gallants v Maritzburg, Thohoyandou
Sunday: Casric v Venda, Solomon Mahlangu, Leopards v Lions, Thohoyandou; La Masia v Milford, Isak Steyl; Baroka v University of PTA, Global
Orbit plan to reach 30 points before Afcon recess
‘We got nine points to play for, it is achievable’
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Orbit College coach Pogiso Makhoye is targeting six points in the last three matches before the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) recess in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, Orbit are still leading with 25 points, two ahead of second-place Baroka, having played the same number of points.
They will host Magesi tomorrow at Olympia Park at 3.30pm in one of the three remaining matches, with Makhoye aiming to reach the 30 points mark before the end of the year.
“We are planning to reach our target of 30 points before we close for Afcon,” Makhoye told Sowetan yesterday.
“It is achievable. We got nine points to play for, so if we can get six points out of nine, I would say the boys have overachieved.”
Orbit’s remaining matches are against Magesi, Platinum Rovers and the University of Pretoria. They head into the game against Magesi tomorrow after suffering two successive defeats in the league against Casric Stars and the Nedbank Cup qualifier to JDR Stars.
But Makhoye doesn’t see that as a crisis, insisting they have been in this situation before and he expects his side to bounce back tomorrow.
“We lost two games before in a row, so it is not the first time and we always come back. The confidence is still high because we cannot be a bad team in just two games,” he said.
“I mean, we put ourselves where we are today and we still believe in these boys and we still give them confidence. We will prepare well for Magesi and we will give them the respect they deserve because they are one of the competitors.
“We will go to Olympia Park and fight for three points.”
The coach also reflected on their previous defeats, saying they were unlucky to lose those matches.
“The pitch we were playing [against Casric after losing 6-1 at Giyani Stadium] was not so good, it was dry but it’s a lesson. We learned that even Manchester City can lose six, Manchester United can lose six. Who are we? It’s part of the game and we learn from that.
“The Nedbank one, we dominated the game and we created a lot of chances. There was one v one, but the ball could not hit the net.
“They only got a chance in the second half and they scored. So, it was not our day. We take it as a team and we move on.”
Fixtures
All the matches will start at 3.30pm
Friday: Callies v Rovers, TUT
Saturday: Upington v JDR, Mxolisi Dicky Jacobs; Orbit v Magesi, Olympia Park; Gallants v Maritzburg, Thohoyandou
Sunday: Casric v Venda, Solomon Mahlangu, Leopards v Lions, Thohoyandou; La Masia v Milford, Isak Steyl; Baroka v University of PTA, Global
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