After winning 3-0 against Ubuntu Cape Town in their Nedbank Cup qualification-round match at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Sunday, Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) have a mountain to climb this weekend. They will travel to Nelspruit, where they will meet TS Sporting at the Kabokweni Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
TTM must come back with at least a draw in order to keep their title hopes alive. The Tshakhuma side dropped from the second position to the fourth spot on the log, following two successive defeats. They lost 0-1 to Ubuntu Cape Town at the Athlone Stadium in Cape before suffering a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Maccabi FC at the Thohoyandou Stadium three weeks ago.
After kissing goodbye to the Nedbank Cup competition last weekend, TS Sporting are now fully focused on their league programme. They were booted out 2-4 by Cape Umoya United after a penalty shoot-out.
On the other hand, TTM restored their lost pride by beating Ubuntu Cape Town in the same competition at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Sunday.
TTM will welcome two of their key players, Happy Mashau and Carlington Nyadombo, back to the team tomorrow. They both watched the team's game against Ubuntu Cape Town from the grandstand last Sunday as they were still on suspension.
TTM's head coach, Mr Sello Chokoe, appealed to the fans not to panic because of the two successive defeats in league matches, saying they were still aiming at an automatic promotion to the elite division, come the end of the season.
The other league matches are Ajax Cape Town vs University of Pretoria, Real Kings vs Mbombela United, Witbank Spurs vs Ubuntu Cape Town, Royal Eagles vs Jomo Cosmos, Maccabi FC vs Richards Bay FC, Cape Umoya United vs Uthongathi FC and TS Galaxy vs Stellenbosch FC.