Year after year, there are shenanigans involving referees at this stage of the season, as the relegation battle and promotion race heats up in the PSL divisions, particularly in the NFD.
It’s no wonder former referee and now chairperson of the national referees committee at Safa House, Victor Gomes, has prioritised the implementation of VAR in the PSL.
Cape Town Spurs have been on the receiving end of many bad calls by officials which has quite honestly and truly affected their chances of getting back to the big time.
Updated log after Sunday's matches #MFChampionship https://t.co/YKda6xhRTR pic.twitter.com/MqOOdauasW
— The NFD (@the_nfd) February 26, 2023
I still have nightmares of seeing no fewer than four Swallows players standing clearly offside in the title-decider back in the 2019/20 season.
The Urban Warriors are back in the promotion mix this season, in third place and it looks like they might have to play every match like they’re walking on eggshells if they are going to have any chance of keeping their hopes of moving up the league alive.
If you check back to our updates and conversations we’ve had with the people from Ikamva this season; they expected to have issues with officials, especially on the road, but didn’t expect it to happen on their own turf at Athlone Stadium.
Head coach Shaun Bartlett had been explicit about his charges doing it for themselves in order to avoid history repeating itself as they prepare to push to win the league title and earn the direct route back up to the Premiership.
And indeed Spurs looked assured when their exciting attacking duo of Therlo Moosa and the league’s top scorer Ashley Cupido set them up for a quick 2-0 lead within 25 minutes when they hosted TTM last week.
They actually should have been 3-0 up, if Cupido’s strike shortly after the quarter mark wasn’t ruled offside, much to the annoyance of the Spurs bench and local fans in attendance.
TTM managed to get a goal back only to benefit from another shocking decision by the referee that gave them a penalty, only blowing his whistle after goalkeeper Lincoln Vyver had made the save.
The U23 keeper protested and was shown a yellow card immediately. It was just a messy first half at the 2010 World Cup training venue along Klipfontein Road!
But like true Warriors at war, the men from Ikamva responded with their secret weapon, on-loan striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who came on and completed the mission with the goal that secured the 3-2 victory.
🚨FULL-TIME🚨
— Cape Town Spurs FC (@CapeTownSpursFC) February 22, 2023
Cape Town Spurs 3⃣-2⃣TTM
A hard-earned 3️⃣points in the bag
We move!!! #CapeTownSpurs#UrbanWarriors#MotsepeFoundationChampionship#OURYOUTHOURFUTURE pic.twitter.com/qGJvv59YXT
They followed that up with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Black Leopards, who had come here to defend at all costs with relegation endangering their survival in what has truly become a jungle of a league.
ANOTHER ONE!!!👏
— Cape Town Spurs FC (@CapeTownSpursFC) February 25, 2023
3⃣crucial points in the bag...
Well done, Urban Warriors! ❤️🔥#CapeTownSpurs#UrbanWarriors#MotsepeFoundationChampionship#OURYOUTHOURFUTURE pic.twitter.com/GuY7VJCDQX
It’s been truly sensational how Cupido (13), Moosa (6) and Radiopane (3) have swapped roles whenever the Warriors needed goals in this campaign. The trio has contributed an incredible 22 of their team's 26 goals so far.
There’s really nothing wrong if Bafana Bafana selectors should consider them to solve the goalscoring problems in the senior national team.
Meanwhile, Spurs’ crazy schedule continues as they go on the road this week. They will spend the night in Limpopo after their match against Baroka this afternoon.
🚨UP THE WARRIORS!🚨
— Cape Town Spurs FC (@CapeTownSpursFC) March 1, 2023
Baroka FC vs Cape Town Spurs❤️🔥
Global Stadium🏟️
Motsepe Foundation Championship🏆
3:30pm 🕒#CapeTownSpurs#UrbanWarriors#MotsepeFoundationChampionship#OURYOUTHOURFUTURE pic.twitter.com/W01qsCCI0T
They will then head down to Johannesburg on Thursday ahead of their trip to Kimberley to face Hungry Lions at Windhoek Draught Park Stadium on Saturday and go to Bloemfontein straight after the game to rest before coming home the day after.
I bumped into Thabo Senong who was here on a spy mission for Sekhukhune United whom Spurs will visit for the Nedbank Cup last 16 at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday, 10 March.
The former Bafana assistant and 2016 Limpopo Coach of the Year was impressed with what he saw, applauding the work done by Bartlett and also noting Nasief Morris’ role, which he said you could tell came from his experiences from playing in Europe.
WEDNESDAY’S NFD FIXTURES
La Masia v AmaTuks, Venda v Casric Stars, Magesi v Polokwane City, Platinum City Rovers v JDR Stars, Pretoria Caillies v Black Leopards, Baroka FC v CT Spurs, Hungry Lions v All Stars, TTM v Uthongathi (all matches at 3.30pm)