Birds to wage survival war
ALEXANDRA – Bluebirds have vowed to wage an all-out war to consolidate their place in the Sasol Women's League.
With only four games to go before the closure of the Sasol Women’s League season for 2016, the Bluebirds Ladies have vowed to unleash an all-out war to ensure they consolidate their survival in the elite women’s league.
Birds have had outstanding encounters before with Zebra Forces of Mabopane in an away game, two games with Banyana captain Janine van Wyk’s JVW Ladies and Croesus Ladies, which are a must-win if they are to survive for a fourth season in one of the toughest football leagues in the country.
Gauteng has two streams of the Sasol Women’s League which will be merged at the end of the season, with two teams being relegated from each stream. The merged Gauteng streams will them merge with the other provincial leagues to form a single national league of the Sasol Women’s League in the 2017 season.
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Although the Birds are relatively safe, they need to take the remaining games and treat them as cup finals to ensure there are no mistakes which can see them being overtaken by current relegation candidates, Aqua Ladies and Zebra Forces. “Our game with Zebra Forces is even more crucial and critical for us as we’re both fighting a war of survival,” said Birds coach Malvin Khumalo.
“We’re fighting to consolidate our position, and they are fighting relegation which is staring them in the face.”
Khumalo said his team was hoping for a top-four finish in their stream, which could mean a top eight finish once the two streams are amalgamated. “But what worries me the most is our lack of clinical finishing in front of the goals as was evident in our past three games. We could have easily raked a win with UJ Ladies but it was not to be as we could not convert our chances.
“These are do-or-die games and I am hoping the return of Daveney [Rhoda] and Morongwa [Manamela] from examinations at the HPC [High Performance Centre] will give us that killer punch we need upfront.”
The Birds mentor was also hoping the newly signed, Lerato Makhanya will ‘make her debut for the team to give us that extra defensive cushion at the back and ensure we don’t leak goals’.
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