Venda FA aim to trip NFD title chasers CT Spurs

Venda Football Academy will look to have their say in the race for promotion in the Motsepe Foundation Championship when they take on Cape Town Spurs tomorrow at the Thohoyandou Stadium (3pm). 

With three matches left in the season, Spurs, Casric Stars and Polokwane City are set to battle for the league title until the last game. 

Venda are one of the teams that have proved to be difficult opposition for the promotion hopefuls. Joel Masutha’s charges last month played to a 1-1 draw with Casric and defeated Polokwane City 3-2. This weekend they take on Spurs, who are on top of the table on goal difference. 

Speaking to the Sowetan yesterday, Masutha said they wanted to do a number on Spurs so they could be mathematically safe from relegation. Venda are in 11th place with 31 points, eight ahead of 15th placed TTM.

“The most important match is the one we are going to play now against Spurs,” Masutha said.

“The main aim is for us to be safe in the league but we know that it won’t be easy against the team that’s on top of the log. They have been grinding results away. It’s a good challenge, we have already done it with Casric, we have done it with Polokwane City and now we have to do it again.

“We are expecting a very difficult match from a team that is one of the most consistent in the league, they are a free-scoring team, they are the highest-scoring team in the league.  

“It’s not going to be easy playing a team that is coached by Shaun Bartlett, so it’s going to be one difficult match.   But I also need the points to be mathematically out of relegation. As tough as it might be, we are expecting our players to rise to the occasion and get the result because we need them,” he said. 

Meanwhile, on the same day, second-placed Stars will travel to the capital to take on Kwanele Kopo’s Pretoria Callies at the TUT Stadium (3pm), while Polokwane City will host Uthongathi at the Peter Mokaba Stadium (3pm).

NFD fixtures (all at 3pm) 

Tomorrow: Venda FA v Cape Town Spurs, Thohoyandou Stadium; TTM v Hungry Lions, Dr Molemela Stadium; All Stars v JDR Stars, Tsakane Stadium; Platinum City Rovers v Black Leopards, Isak Steyl Stadium; Polokwane City v Uthongathi, Peter Mokaba Stadium; Pretoria Caillies v Casric Stars, TUT Stadium; Pretoria University v NB La Masia, ABSA Tuks Stadium; Magesi v Baroka, Old Peter Mokaba Stadium