Crystal Palace coach Goodwin “Oenie” Lewis has warned his rivals that they want to take Safa Cape Town’s Third Division by storm – and he has the “element of surprise” in his arsenal.
Palace showed their mettle by first conquering the tough Cape Town Tygerberg LFA and then gaining promotion in the even tougher play-offs at the William Herbert Sportsground last season.
Lewis has emphasized that Palace will not rest on their laurels in their quest for more success and promotion.
“You can be pretty sure that we are going all out this season,” Lewis stated. “We want to win it as quickly as possible and move on.”
Palace is the only club in the Third Division that has won promotion on more than one occasion – just to sell the franchise later.
Lewis, along with his former colleague and friend Bradley August has been the driving force between Palace.
While August brought the club from the LFA-level to the Third Division, Lewis has gone one better by winning promotion on a couple of occasions making them one of the most successful teams in the League’s history.
Palace sold the status to Hout Bay United FC just as Covid-19 hit and brought the world to a standstill.
This meant that Palace had to do it all over again.
Lewis, who holds a Caf-B licence added he is well aware that the eyes of the local footballing fraternity will once again be on him and his team.
“Whether it’s for the right reason or not, everyone is always interested in what we are doing,” Lewis added.
“And let me use this platform to say that we have invested in our young talent from the area. So, our squad will consist of 80 to 90 percent of players from Manenberg.
“The time has come to unleash them. Most of them took part in the Greensmile tournament last season and we’ve been building since. We have the element of surprise in our armoury – so wait and see,” Lewis concluded.
