Vasco da Gama head coach Andrew Pequeno won’t publicly declare his lofty ambitions but knowing this astute tactician he’d be challenging his players to see how long they can keep their unbeaten run in the ABC Motsepe League campaign.
Pequeno’s troops keep on raising the bar and are now the only unbeaten side out of the 24 participating teams in the Second Division – albeit that they have played fewer games due to their successful Nedbank Cup run where they won the provincial final and progressed to the Round of 32.
Vasco (13 points) edged out rivals Cape Town Spurs by 1-0 over the weekend and are breathing down the necks of log leaders Zizwe United (16) and second-placed Crystal Palace (15). Palace, under the guidance of former Bafana Bafana player Bradley August, is certainly showing early signs of a potential contender to win Stream A.
Should Vasco, who played two games fewer than Zizwe, win these two outstanding games, they will overtake both Palace and Zizwe, whom they welcome to Parow Park (15:00) on Saturday in what could be dubbed a six-pointer.
Pequeno explained to No Bones with Jones: “Too soon for that, but yes, a tough game before going into the break. This was supposed to be the first game of the season but due to our Nedbank Cup commitments, it was postponed till this Saturday (15:00).
Vasco played more football than Zizwe thus far and it will be interesting to see how his players will respond to the log leaders. Pequeno emphasized that they will have to be at their very best to make a statement before going into the Festive break.
“Zizwe have had a very good start to the season and have been grinding out the results. They are tough to beat and a team that likes to play front-foot football. It will be a tough challenge for us and we will put our best foot forward and give it our all. We were not at our best against Spurs last weekend but I am sure our boys will be ready and up for the challenge on Saturday,” Pequeno concluded.
