Vasco da Gama head coach Andrew Pequeno has reminded his players that they are carrying the hopes of the region as they prepare to do battle at the Hollywoodbets Third Division Playoffs.
Pequeno’s words come after the Third Division champion was given an official send-off from Safa Cape Town at their Parow Park home ground on Wednesday.
Pequeno, the father figure that he is, uttered words of encouragement to his troops emphasizing that they should grab this opportunity with both hands.
“Everything we did and sacrificed up to this point, we have to make it count,” Pequeno told No Bones with Jones. “They know there is a lot at stake here and there’ll be no second chances.”
The tournament in Plettenberg Bay starts on Friday and ends on Saturday (21 July), but has been marred by controversy since the Central Karoo still needs to determine its representative.
This is due to a dispute between Barcelona FC and Ubuntu Spartans FC. The former has contested the first ruling which was in favour of the latter. Barcelona subsequently submitted their correspondence to express their disapproval and challenge the decision.
Meanwhile, Safa Western Cape completed the draw Playoffs at the Loukout Deck Hotel in Plettenberg Bay on Saturday.
The draw sees Vasco grouped with some tricky opposition in Diaz Leeds (Safa West Coast) as well as Bitou Young Pirates from Safa Eden while Mbekweni Cosmos (Safa Cape Winelands), Bazuka United (Overberg) are paired with Central Karoo.
Many feel that the issue between the two Central Karoo teams should have been buried by now as there was ample time before the start of the Playoffs – but time is running out.
This is obviously not ideal but Pequeno stated that he is “really not worried about the situation and court cases in the Central Karoo.”
Photos supplied by 4th Moment
