University of Pretoria head coach Tlisane Motaung has identified the key factor he believes prevented his troops from achieving promotion.
The Motsepe Foundation Championship season is set to be wrapped up on Sunday, with Durban City FC set to confirm their promotion to the Betway Premiership. Places for the promotion playoffs are still up for grabs, while four teams will also be fighting to avoid the chop.
AmaTuks will take on Black Leopards in Thohoyandou on Sunday. While their opponents still have a chance to secure a promotion play-off spot, AmaTuks stand no chance. The club has qualified for two promotion play-offs in the last two seasons.
However, there might be changes as a significant twist emerged in the promotion race. On Thursday, the PSL announced a delay in the trophy handover due to legal issues that could alter the Championship’s final standings.
WHY THE UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA COULDN’T COMPETE THIS SEASON
“In terms of the team, we were a little bit inconsistent with the results,” Motaung told FARPost.
“Remember, we lost five players from last season. We lost a goalkeeper [Edward Maova] to Golden Arrows; even though we had two youngsters and two experienced players, we couldn’t get the same as Maova, who moved to Golden Arrows at the beginning of the season.
“Upfront, we also lost two players, Delano Abrahams and Thabang Sibanyoni. Those for me were critical players in terms of us performing and winning matches. We obviously couldn’t replace those players, and we also lost a player like Kenneth Langa, who went to Sekhukhune United.
“Tshepiso Mahlangu got injured at the beginning of the season, and he only came back now. So those five players impacted negatively on our team.”
TLISANE MOTAUNG COMPARES THE CURRENT SEASON WITH TO THREE YEARS BACK
“We were winning games, but we were not winning with big margins or consistently. But if you look at this season, it’s almost the same season as when we went to the playoffs with Swallows.
“We lost 10 players after that season, and we battled. So we can say this current season was more of a rebuilding phase, though we wanted to go to the play-offs or win the league.”
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