DAY 2: The first team wraps up in the Motsepe League National Playoffs

Day two of the ABC Motsepe League National Playoffs encounters saw one of the nine teams wrapped up in the highly competitive tournament.

The 2023/24 SAFA ABC Motsepe League National Playoffs officially came to life yesterday at the Mxolisi Dicky Jacobs Stadium in Upington, Northern Cape.

Day two saw teams from SA football’s third tier produce another series of entertaining matches with more goals scored.

In the first match of the day, Highbury FC from Eastern Cape settled for a 0-0 draw against Thames FC from North West in Group B.

The draw leaves Highbury with four points, giving them the advantage to progress to the play-off semi-finals, depending on tomorrow’s (Thursday) results.

THE FIRST TEAM SHIPPED PACKAGING

The second match produced five goals, with Western Cape’s FN Rangers showing the flames of Limpopo’s Mpheni Defenders. The Western Cape defeated Mpheni by a 4-1 scoreline.

As a result, Mpheni Home Defenders were the first team to go home in the group stage after reaching the semi-finals last year when the tournament was held in KwaZulu-Natal. The Limpopo team only managed to collect one point.

“It was a tough task. What I can say is that we congratulate FN Rangers. They played well, with high intensity, while performing high up the field, forcing us to make mistakes. And we made those mistakes early in the game because our plan was not to concede,” said Mpheni Defenders coach Sydwell Phuravhathu.

“But this is a good experience for my boys because they are still very young. They have learned a lot from these games, especially from yesterday’s match to this match. In the future they will try to correct their mistakes.”

The final match of day two was between Mpumalanga’s Kruger United and Gauteng Province’s Dondol Stars in Group C.

The showpiece ended in a 0-0 draw, with both teams still regretting their missed opportunities.

The road to promotion to the SA second tier continues on Thursday – with other exciting matches tomorrow.

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