Lions of the North open their Telkom Knockout account against Black Leopards
JOBURG – A clash of the Big Cats awaits in the Telkom Knockout Trophy when Balfour Park-based Highlands Park takes on Black Leopards at the Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa,
One of South Africa’s ace goal poachers and Highland Park marksman, Rodney Ramagalela believes his team’s loss to SuperSport United in the MTN8 competition final last week was now a thing of the past.
In an interview at the launch of the Telkom Knockout, in which Highlands drew home advantage against Black Leopards in the opening rounds of the competition, Rama-G, as Ramagalela is better known, said, “We’re picking up the pieces and moving forward with life and hoping for a good run in the Telkom Knockout.
“Life still has to go on despite that loss, which I now consider to be water under the bridge. We cannot forever mourn that loss.”
Dubbed the clash of the Big Cats, Ramagalela will come face to face in the Telkom Knockout with one of his many former clubs in Lidoda Duvha, which translates to ‘The day will come”, when they host the Limpopo outfit on 18 October as the opening match of the competition at Tembisa’s Makhulong Stadium.
On the prospects of coming face to face with the club that shaped his professional career, Rama-G said, “I cannot promise you anything out of the ordinary but that I will give the best of my ability like the professional footballer that I am.
“We hope to do our best in this competition as well and go all the way. We have learnt from the errors of our ways in that match and nothing will be repeated.”
Rama-G did not play in the MTN8 Cup final and was not even on the list of substitutes but was present at the Orlando Stadium to give moral support to his teammates in their crucial match, their first-ever cup final since their return to the premiership two seasons ago.
The former Golden Arrows, Mamelodi Sundowns and Polokwane City marksman was given time to attend to matters around his daughter’s death late last month and he is now back in training with the team.
The rest of the draw is:
- SuperSport United versus defending champions Baroka
- Cape Town City versus Kaizer Chiefs
- Chippa United versus Bloemfontein Celtic
- Orlando Pirates versus Stellenbosch
- Mamelodi Sundowns versus AmaZulu
- Maritzburg United versus Bidvest Wits
- Golden Arrows versus Polokwane City
- Highlands Park versus Black Leopards
Related Article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/243628/pride-not-too-proud/
