As cruel and sad as it sounds, there is unfortunately just no more hope for the ABC Motsepe League debutants Batalions FC (Inter Africa Football Academy) – they are a lost cause and it is inevitable that they will get relegated in their debut season.
Alas! Batalions (3 points) will bark that they have a mathematical chance as they have played two games less than City Kings (9) who are in the second last position – but in order to pull a rabbit out of the hat, coach Theo Hempe and his troops will have to win their remaining three matches and hope that Kings drop points in their two remaining games.
One cannot help but wonder how a Batalions team with a respectable coach like ‘Balla’ as Hempe is known Hempe – along with some decent players – could only muster one win from 12 matches thus far, not even a draw in between – it is mind-boggling.
With the luxury of hindsight, one can probably deduce that perhaps the takeover of Batalions by Inter Africa was a hasty one. Perhaps it was a bargain buy as it is no secret that the Paarl-based club was desperate to sell.
Whatever it actually was, both Hempe and his chairman at Inter Africa, Moesien Rauf, will testify that they bit off more than what they can chew and it was more than a sober experience – both on and off the field.
Perhaps there were too many cooks involved with a glutton appetite with the acquisition of the status. Perhaps those who brokered the deal were too big-eyed and ended up wasting a golden opportunity for Cape Town’s talented players – who knows as it is all academic by now because there is unfortunately no remedy for the wooden spooners in Stream B of the Second Division.
It’s a real pity and shame for Hempe and Rauf who had such ambitious plans for the future. But sometimes in life one needs to go a step back to make lengthy strides and this could be one of those instances.
On Saturday Batalions travel to another newcomer and surprise package from the Southern Cape in Oriented Birds for the third last match of the season.
Birds have shown that they are a tough nut to crack on their home ground after only two losses thus far and one cannot see Hempe and his troops coming away with maximum points which they desperately need.
If only one could be a fly on the wall to listen in on how Hempe will motivate his players for this fixture. What will he say? How will he pump them up to get the best out of them? If there was ever a chance for him to show his worth it is now! If not, just imagine how long their journey will be, especially should they come away empty-handed. And as the saying goes… you reap what you sow!
Fixtures – Friday – Stream B:
Grassy Park United vs Zizwe United (19:30)
Saturday:
Oriented Birds vs Batalions FC (14:00)
Maties FC vs Cape Town Spurs (1s:00)
Hout Bay United FC vs Clarewood JPM (15:00)
Stream A – Saturday:
Ukhanya United vs Royal Blues (14:00)
Santos FC vs Hanover Park FC (15:00)
Ubuntu FC vs Junction Rovers (15:00)
Young Bafana vs FN Rangers (15:00)
