Spare a thought for Northern Suburbs’ LFA champions, Island Rovers, who have been left with no alternative but to roll with the punches.
As things stand, Rovers must navigate two cup ties in quick succession — first their KO Final at the Northern Suburbs LFA against UWC at the Erica Park Sport Complex, followed by a Coke Cup semi‑final clash against defending champions Hanover Park FC the very next day.
This was confirmed by Safa Cape Town General Secretary, Reyaad Joseph, via WhatsApp after being questioned by a journalist in the media group.
Rovers, who have already rewritten the club’s history with notable achievements — conquering the Super League and the Grand Challenge — are now on the cusp of more historic feats, with a possible quadruple in sight.
Should Rovers overcome UWC, they would complete the treble after their league and Grand Challenge success. But they’ll need to be fired up again immediately, with the Coke Cup semi‑final against Hanover Park FC at the Stephen Reagan Sport Field looming just 24 hours later.
Needless to say, this schedule will take a heavy toll on Rovers, leaving no time for recovery. Coach Gabriel Charles admits they will simply have to bite the bullet.
“We have to persevere and find a way to pull through somehow — we just have to, as there is no alternative,” Charles told No Bones with Jones. “We have a very good LFA, but… I know when it comes to other LFAs, their games are off.”
Meanwhile, Northerns’ president, Martin Julie, reiterated that their KO Finals are always held in the first week of October.
“If Island Rovers received the Coke Cup fixtures already, then they would have written to us requesting the final be postponed. Only then would Northerns’ executives make a decision based on that request,” Julie explained.
When pressed on how the LFA would respond to a similar request, Julie pointed to precedent:
“Look, we revisit what we did before. Bishop Lavis was in the same boat two years ago when they were playing in the quarterfinals. They asked for a postponement, and we had to go back and see what we did then. If we said no two years ago, we’ll have to say no now as well — if the merits are the same, obviously.”
Julie also confirmed that Rovers have lodged an appeal in another matter, paying the R5,000 fee for the case to be heard by the region. He stressed, however, that the appeal will have no bearing on fixtures — it is simply for Rovers to keep their record clean.
Coincidentally Hanover Park, are also contesting the Cape Town Tygerberg Senior KO Final at 5pm on Saturday.
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