NFD wrap: Cosmos slump continues as they lose to lowly Uthongathi

The defeat saw Jomo Sono’s team fall an incredible nine points behind National First Division leaders Highlands Park who continued their good run with a 3-0 win at Ubuntu Cape Town.

Ezenkosi defender, Ananias Gebhart however remains adamant the team can still carry their mandate of at least qualifying for the play-offs by the end of the season.

“As usual we created a number of scoring opportunities but couldn’t put any away. It’s not looking good because we only got a point in our last three matches, but so long as we remain in the chasing pack, we can achieve our objective at the end of the season,” said the Namibian.

Weekend wrap:

Stellenbosch 2 (Mason-Smith, Moroole) Mthatha Bucks 1 (Erasmus)
Stellies finally curbed their winless streak with a win over embattled Amathol’amnyama who seem to go back to the amateur ranks next season. Sam Mason-Smith and Jarrod Moroole scored for the home side while Mpho Erasmus’ eighth of the campaign was not enough.

Mbombela United 0 University of Pretoria 0
AmaTuks’ downward spiral continued as Shaun Bartlett’s side could not eke out anything more than a point away to Tingwenyama who are also finding the going quite tough in the second round.

Real Kings 3 (Mtshali, Phewa x2) Super Eagles 1 (Nkosi)
A brace from Nkosingiphile Phewa – who is now the leading scorer in the NFD with 10 strikes – and another from Lindokuhle Mtshali were enough to seal the deal and ensure the Magic Boys keep pressure on runaway leaders Highlands Park – whom they are six points behind. Mlungisi Nkosi scored for the Nest Boys.

Black Leopards 1 (Maphangule) Cape Town All Stars 2 (Mvalo, Setelele)
Meshack Maphangule’s goal was not enough for Lidoda Duvha to avoid their first defeat of the new as a resurgent Igugu leKapa’s Msekeli Mvalo and Lucky Setelele scored a goal each to ensure they fly back home with the full points.

Uthongathi 1 (Vilane) Jomo Cosmos 0
Siyabonga Vilane was the hero as he gave the Cane Cutters some relief by scoring to hang them a rare win and three points which saw them move a little away from the danger zone. Uthongathi are now five points above bottom placed Mthatha Bucks and will hope new coach Sammy Troughton is the man to ensure they stay afloat in their first campaign in the paid ranks.

Witbank Spurs 0 Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila 2
Tshakhuma’s giant killing ways continued as they hindered Siyavutha’s promotion chances with a 2-0 win. TTM are now fourth and in with a chance to do the unthinkable and finish in the play-offs places. The scorers could not be established at the time of publication.

Royal Eagles 5 (Zulu x2; Ngubo, Mncube, Kubheka) Richards Bay 2 (M Gumede x2)
Nkosivumile Zulu continued his scoring run as he hit the net twice to help embattled Eagles to a rare 5-2 win over neighbours Richards Bay. Siyanda Ngubo, Mazwi Mncube and Sandile Kubheka also scored. Michael Gumede grabbed the brace for Richards Bay, but could not help his team get maximum points from this game.

Ubuntu Cape Town 0 Highlands Park 3 (Mahlangu, Shalulile, Nyembe)
Owen Da Gama’s well-oiled machine continued their rampage as they made easy meat of relegation threatened Ubuntu, beating them 3-0 in their own backyard. Sphiwe Mahlangu, Peter Shalulile and Sabelo Nyembe were the scorers on the day for the Lions of the North who are now six points clear at the top.