Maccabi still on right track – Tshilo

For Maccabi FC, it was always going to be about swimming against the tide and the Gauteng based National First Division side has done fairly well so far sitting comfortable in sixth position with 18 points after 13 games.

Club captain Thapelo “Chapies” Tshilo said they are not entirely happy with what they managed so far but he would not give the team a fail if he were to grade them.

“So far it has been good, Maccabi is a new team in the NFD and we set a target in terms of the number of points we want to have collected after 15 games and I think we are okay, we will make the target,” said the former Jomo Cosmos and Polokwane City defender.

Tshilo is one of the players on whom coach Mokete Tsotetsi has built his team around and he has lead from the front with some telling performances at the back while the likes of Collins Mbesuma and Lebogang Mokoena have also done their business up front.

Maccabi’s next assignment is a game against Mbombela United away at Kanyamazane Stadium this afternoon and Tshilo believes they can steal a point or three from the second placed side.

“We don’t want to put pressure on ourselves. But we will push. We have two more games to play before the break and we want to get as many points off them as we can so that we can continue on something in the second round.

“We have not been doing well at home but away, we get the points and although I can’t say we will beat Mbombela, but we will give it everything we have and see if we can’t get the full points. We have won three games at home but we are aware that we need to make Dobsonville Stadium our fortress,” he said.

Maccabi wrap-up their first round games with a tough encounter against NFD pace-setters Stellenbosch FC at Dobsonville Stadium next weekend.

Jomo Cosmos will meanwhile be away at struggling Uthongathi hoping for a better travel to KwaZulu-Natal this time around after they were beaten by Royal Eagles last weekend.

Fixtures

Today: Witbank Spurs v Royal Eagles; Stellenbosch FC v Cape Umoya; University of Pretoria v Richards Bay; Uthongathi v Jomo Cosmos; Mbombela United v Maccabi; TS Sporting v TS Galaxy

Tomorrow: Ubuntu Cape Town v Real Kings

Monday: Tshakhuma v Ajax CT

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.