Orbit College Close In On Top Spot, Relegation Battle Intensifies
The race for automatic promotion to the Betway Premiership is heating up in the final weeks of the Motsepe Foundation Championship as Orbit College closed in on the summit of the table with a 2-1 win over Hungry Lions on Wednesday afternoon.
The Rustenburg outfit moved up to second place with 43 points accumulated after 26 matches played as fellow promotion-chasers Kruger United and Casric Stars were dealt a blow in their respective matches.
Newly promoted Kruger settled for a share of the spoils with JDR Stars in a goalless draw last Friday to ascend to third place, while Casric were subjected to a 2-1 defeat by the University of Pretoria at Tuks Stadium and dropped to fourth place.
In the middle of the pack, Black Leopards’ resurgence continued with a comeback 2-1 triumph against ambitious rookies Highbury at Thohoyandou Stadium. Lidoda Duvha swiftly slotted into position six with 38 points gathered – three points of the promotional play-off spot.
Elsewhere, Baroka FC put on a valiant fight to deny 10-man Brandon Truter’s struggling Upington City maximum points as Tshepo Mashiloane’s 84th-minute goal cancelled out Trevor Mokwena’s opener in the first half. City is on a six-game winless run with four defeats and two draws.
Furthermore, the stalemate put Bafana ba Gucci in a precarious situation as they are now a point above the relegation zone, having collected 28 points, while the Limpopo club, spearheaded by Dan Malesela, occupies position nine with 35 points in the second-tier standings.
In the fight for survival, Cape Town Spurs secured a commanding 4-0 win over Pretoria Callies at Athlone Stadium to move up to 13th place with 28 points. On the other hand, Venda FC beat bottom-placed Leruma United 2-1 to climb to 14th place and level on 27 points with 15th-placed Callies.
Additionally, the match between log leaders Durban City and Milford FC was abandoned on Tuesday night due to the passing of City’s player Sinamandla Zondi. Simo Dladla’s men were losing 1-0 before the tragic news and are currently at the top of the standings with 46 points from 25 league outings.
FULL MOTSEPE FOUNDATION CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
JDR Stars 0-0 Kruger United
Cape Town Spurs 4-0 Pretoria Callies
University of Pretoria 2-1 Casric Stars
Baroka FC 1-1 Upington City
Black Leopards 2-1 Highbury
Hungry Lions 1-2 Orbit College
Leruma United 1-2 Venda FC
Durban City 0-1 Milford FC * Abandoned
