If there is one fixture that can spark and breathe new life in Trinitarians FC, then it is undoubtedly the Northerns derby against arch-rivals, Matroosfontein FC.
The pride of the Northern Suburbs LFA highlights the seventh round of fixtures when they go head-to-head (15:00) at the Tygersig Sports Field in Uitsig on Saturday.
The contrast between these two old foes could also not have been any more disparate with Trinnies labouring at the foot of the table (16th) with four points from six matches while Matroos sits comfortably in third position with 13 points from their six matches.
Needless to say, coach Zaheer Simons’ ([pictured) Trinnies outfit is a mere shadow of last season when they were in the running for the league.
“Look, we are in a slump but we are trying to get out of it,” Simons conceded. “We had a positive session last night (Tuesday) building up to the derby. A derby is a match where you play more for pride than anything and most times tactics go out the window.
“On the other hand, Matroos had a good start, they won the Nedbank and they had a good run so far (in league) but we have sent out people to analyse them so that we can breakthrough and we are trying to reinforce Uitsig as the graveyard.
“So ja, it is going to be a difficult one because Matroosfontein has a very good team and a very young team – and very well balanced as well whereas we are still trying to find the balance in our team. But I think we should be bouncing back anytime soon to our formidable form which we are well-known for in this division as one of the top-five, top-three teams in the league. People shouldn’t forget that we are normally up there with the bug guns in the league,” he added.
Simons suggested that he prefers to have a slow start now rather than flying out of the blocks as the campaign is very long.
“We are hitting our slump early which I am kind of grateful for because it gives us something to build on and rectify things going forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, coach Patrick Weels’ Matroosfontein, who had some ups and downs last season, has certainly learned from their hardships and is growing in confidence with his young guns in the new campaign.
They have already signalled their intentions with success in the Nedbank Cup but fell short at the provincial playoffs in Caledon a couple of weeks back. Despite the early success, Weels will know all too well that they cannot rest on their laurels when these neighbouring clubs cross swords.
