Can Uthongathi stop Black Leopards?

Whether one of the National First Division League relegation candidates, Uthongathi FC, will be able to rise to the occasion and beat Black Leopards when they fight for points at the Thohoyandou Stadium tomorrow remains to be seen.

While Black Leopards will be fighting it with the aim of enhancing their chances to take part in the promotional playoffs at the end of the season, Uthongathi must win the match to move out of the relegation zone.

Leopards are in the second spot on the log and anything less than victory against Uthongathi tomorrow will do them more harm than good. The spirit is high in the Leopards’ camp after winning two matches in a row. Lidoda Duvha beat Real Kings 2-1 at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban three weeks ago, before crushing Stellenbosch FC 3-1 at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Sunday.

Leopards will welcome their playmaker, Phathutshedzo Nange, back to the team tomorrow. Nange watched their game against Stellenbosch FC last Sunday from the grandstand as he was still under suspension after accumulating four yellow cards in their previous games. Should he be in the starting lineup tomorrow, Nange will form a lethal combination with Meshack Maphangule and Eden Nene in the middle of the park.

The Leopards’ defenders, Marks Munyai, Thivhavhudzi Ndou and Jean Munganga, will have a mammoth task to stop the Uthongathi strikers, James Sikhosana and Leonard Dlamini.

Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila will travel to Johannesburg, where they will play against Jomo Cosmos at the Vosloorus Stadium. Should they donate points to Cosmos, TTM will be out of the promotional playoff race.

Real Kings will entertain Mbombela United at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban, while Super Eagles will host Ubuntu Cape Town at the Goble Park Stadium in Bethlehem. The other weekend fixtures are: Highlands Park vs University of Pretoria, Mthatha Bucks vs Richards Bay FC and Cape Town All Stars vs Witbank Spurs.

Date:06 April 2018

By: Frank Mavhungu

Frank is a Human Resources Manager at the Department of Public Works in Limpopo. He is the longest serving correspondent of the Mirror, having joined us at the end of 1990.  He mainly writes sports reports and resides at Tsianda Village. In 2004, Frank won the National Castle League Award, an award for the best reporter in the SAB league in South Africa.

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