While the USSA campaign remains Maties FC’s primary focus, the club is equally determined to make its mark in the ABC League after five seasons in the competition.
“This year I want us to really make a statement,” said head coach Desmond Crowie. “The last few seasons we started poorly and ended off well. We want to change that narrative this season.”
Maties showed what they are capable of during the closing stages of last season, finishing unbeaten in their final eight league matches. Maintaining that level of performance over an entire campaign is our biggest test.
“The challenge now is to translate that form into a strong start and sustained consistency throughout the campaign,” Crowie added.
The 2026/27 season has started encouragingly, with Maties collecting four points from their opening three fixtures.
Their first victory arrived on Friday, when they secured a comfortable 3-1 win over Mbekweni Cosmos at the Lentelus Sport Complex, moving up to sixth place on the table.
With ambitions in both the ABC League and USSA, Crowie and assistant coach Zaheer Simons face the task of carefully managing a student-driven squad across two demanding competitions.
If Maties can strike that balance, they will be well placed to challenge for promotion while continuing their pursuit of a return to the top tier of university football in South Africa.
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