by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG – ABEDNEGO Mosiatlhaga’s regression from the most prolific striker to an almost forgotten forward has coincided with the disintegration of Cape Town Spurs from first division championship contenders to relegation candidates.
Then-named Ajax Cape Town, the side came within a whisker of winning last season’s first division GladAfrica Championship and qualification to the DStv Premiership while the striker finished top of the goal scoring charts with 18 goals.
Mosiatlhaga’s tally was the best between South Africa’s two professional tiers.
Fortunes have coincidentally changed for the worse for club and player as Spurs stare relegation and Mosiatlhaga’s prowess dropped because of injury.
However, now that he has ended his goal drought, hopes are high the player whose goals masterminded last season’s championship push can produce the goods to spur the team’s relegation survival.
He had netted twice in the Cape side’s last three matches for the side placed second-last on the 16th-team log.
“I’m feeling fresh again. The injury is gone,” the right winger told CAJ News Africa.
“I have played around ten games this season, and started four. It’s a different context from last season when I started the campaign and played until the end. Had I started this one earlier, maybe we could be talking a different story.”
Mosiatlhaga conceded the degeneration from missing out on qualification to the Premiership last season to the team’s current status as relegation candidate was nerve-racking.
Spurs led for most of that but their season collapsed agonizingly when the league resumed after months of lockdown owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Swallows snatched the title and ticket to the Premiership from under their nose while Black Leopards eliminated them in the playoffs for the remaining topflight berth.
Off-field issues for the side formerly co-owned by Ajax Amsterdam also heaped pressure.
“It’s a Very stressful time. I won’t lie,” Mosiatlhaga conceded.
“Looking at where we were last season and where we are now, it’s a bit of a challenge,” he said.
“It stresses everyone within the club because we know where the clubs deserves to be or where it should be…what it should be fighting for.”
The 26-year-old however is adamant coach Ian Taylor’s side will survive the dreaded relegation axe.
“We might be in a relegation spot but we don’t dwell much on that because we have a lot of games and we are improving with each passing match,” he said.
Spurs have shown signs of improvement recently and lost once in five games but a trip to current log leaders Sekhukhune is a major test. It is one of eleven assignments remaining in Spurs’ 2020/21 fixtures roster.
“Our performances in recent games have been excellent. We had been not converting chances we have been creating. If we do that, the whole scenario changes,” Mosiatlhaga said.
He apparently has put behind the disappointment of failing to secure a move to the DStv Premiership during the offseason when his side’s promotion push fell apart.
Swallows and Tshakhuma were said to be interested.
“We all plan but God decides,” the attacker reasoned.
“Everyone in the first division is vying to play in the PSL, if not abroad. That’s why I came to Ajax and it did not happen last season because of various reasons.”
Mosiatlhaga nonetheless is not discouraged.
“It’s not something to dwell much on. I would rather focus on what the club (Spurs) needs and what I need in order for it to become the club everybody knows,” he concluded.
– CAJ News
