The Mpheni owner and Coach Sydwell Phuravhathu.
By: Refilwe Sebola
The Limpopo representative in the ABC Motsepe League national playoffs, Mpheni Defenders, experienced an untimely exit from this year’s promotional tournament, suffering an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Western Cape side, FN Rangers.
The two-time ABC Motsepe League Provincial Champions needed to secure victory over Rangers to advance to the semi-finals, following their failure to seal three points in their opening game against Njampela. A lapse in concentration in the dying minutes of the game allowed the KwaZulu-Natal-based Njampela to equalize with two quick goals, ending the game in a 2-2 draw.
Against Rangers, Mpheni played an open game, allowing their fullbacks to push high when they attacked, but they were punished by speedy strikers. Consequently, they finished bottom of their group with only one point and two goals, while Njampela finished on top of the group following a 2-1 victory over FN Rangers on Thursday morning. Rangers finished second with three points.
Mpheni owner and coach, Sydwell Phuravhathu, reiterated his stance on their performance in the tournament, saying that his team was still in the building process. Phuravhathu said they were lucky to have made it to the playoffs since they lost eight of their last season players to the National First Division teams. “We were lucky to be here; we are the team that lost players. We don’t have players. The only player who played professionally here is Tau Rankoko; the rest of the players are from the SAB league. The left back is 17 or 18, and our right back is 19. Our right winger was born in 2004, so these are young players,” he added.