Greenwood Athletic, the early pace setter in the Third Division – will probably downplay their Third Division title aspirations, but one cannot deny that head coach Lionel Miller and his troops are looking like the real deal.
Furthermore, they have seemed to find a formula to grind out victories away from home – an aspect which has been their Achilles heel in the past and to their detriment.
This was evident during their away win last week against JL Zwane in Gugulethu which is a venue where very few teams have success.
Furthermore, Greenwood picked up another away victory against Goodhope FC on Friday evening to extend their unbeaten record – which also signals their title ambition this season.
It’s evident that Miller has placed a big emphasis on solidifying his defence and the evidence is there for all to see as they have a flawless record of four matches played, won four, scored four and no goals conceded – is this not a sign of a team that should be considered as serious contenders?
After all, the ‘Green Machine’ as they are called has always been a top four side and truth be told, they really do look good value for their money and could go all the way this season.
Another outfit that is looking impressive is Ashraf Calvert’s Rygersdal FC who they face on Tuesday at the Solo Street which is set to be a real humdinger as Rygersdal, a newbie to league, are starting to stamp their authority and getting to grips with the demands of this league.
They have amassed six points from an allotted nine, after they walloped Jomos Power by 5-0 at the Meadowridge home ground on Friday. And it will be interesting to see what Calvert has in store against his former Greenwood outfit.
One cannot talk about title aspirations and not include another debutant Ashford Athletic who along with Greenwood, are the only two sides with an unblemished record in the league thus far.
Therefore, credit should be given to their new coach, the young Cyurtley Daniels, who has hit the ground running with two impressive victories over YMO and the Nedbank Cup regional champions and last season’s runner-up Trinitarians last week in Uitsig.
Ashford has really signalled their intentions early on and could go joint top with Greenwood if they get the better of Saxon Rovers at the Bridge on Saturday (22 November).
The latter has also come out all guns blazing thanks to their ambitious and competent coach Robert Pretorious who recently had big success with Vasco da Gama, helping them to win promotion as well as lifting the Coke Cup last season. This fixture is not to be missed as sparks could fly.
Then there is also Roger Fortune’s Young Pirates also a newbie to the league but have shown that they are not easily initmited by the season campaigners. Pirates humbled the struggling Silver Spurs by 5-1 on Friday evening at the ‘Harry Gwala’ in Heideveld on Friday. Hence, they should not be written off as they too can still humble quite a few contenders this season.
