The 2023 ABC Motsepe League National Playoffs officially commenced on Tuesday, 6 June at the Harry Gwala Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal.
However, the nine Provincial winners of the South African football third tier came into the tournament highly motivated. Each team is eyeing a place in the final where the top two teams will be promoted to the Motsepe Foundation Championship next season.
SAFA will be happy to have started the playoffs without no interruptions following the Young Bafana and Zizwe United legal battles.
In the first game of the day, Orbit College of North West got the better of Mpumalanga’s Mlambo Royals Cubs 2-0 in Group C.
The second fixture produced yet another mouthwatering encounter which saw Amavarara of the Eastern Cape beat Young Bafana 2-1 in Group B.
AMAVARARA COACH: ‘WE WERE NERVOUS WHEN WE STARTED’
Amavarara head coach Vuyisani ‘Mavovo’ Mangaliso hinted that his side were nervous when they started the game of which they should have won the game with a bigger scoreline as they created a lot of clear-cut chances.
“We were nervous when we started. The only thing that we did right was that we played how we wanted but nerves got the better of us at some point,” said coach Mangaliso.
YOUNG BAFANA COACH ON THE LEGAL BATTLE
Meanwhile, Young Bafana Coach Ashraf Calvert stated he would not point fingers after his side lost to Amavarara following weeks of legal battles with their arch-rivals Zizwe United.
“Look, I’m not going to point fingers. And how things were done because that is not going to look good on us. We take what we got and we try to move forward and prepare for the next game,” stated Calvert.
The last match of Day 1, saw the hosts, Umsinga going head-to-head with the favourites Dondol Stars of the Gauteng Province.
KwaZulu-Natal’s side walked away victorious following their 2-1 win over Dondol in the Group A.
The journey for a promotion to the Motsepe Foundation Championship continues tomorrow with more fascinating fixtures.
RELATED STORY: Latest on Zizwe United and Young Bafana case
