Wanderers FC coach Tembani Mini pictured third from left) conceded that their Hollywoodbets Third Division clash against Crystal Palace will be a difficult one – for obvious reasons.
The amateur ABC Motsepe Second Division and the Hollywoodbets league are set to resume this coming weekend after the Easter break which was probably welcoming with the business end approaching.
Mini, who was appointed this season, has put on a satisfactory display with the Langa-based outfit occupying the 10th position with 36 points after 25 games.
This is in stark contrast with Palace (44) who have slipped down to fourth position but still have a mathematical chance of claiming the title.
The challenge for Mini is that he and Palace’s experienced and well travelled assistant coach Goodwin ‘Oenie’ Lewis are more than just rival coaches – and there is very little that they do not know about each other.
“Oenie is a very good colleague of mine even before we got involved with the Safa CT Academy project, you know,” Mini explained to No Bones with Jones.
“I think we always had respect for each other, the ideas we shared around football. I have also been around Manenberg during the LFA season at one stage and I got to learn a lot from the community and I have huge respect as they are very passionate about their football.
“That said I have to be realistic enough that we are on opposite sides and there is a (tough) league which requires that we need to take care of our business as there are expectations on both of us, you know.
“They need points, we need points. We are both new to the league this season and finding our feet very well with them having more points which indicates that they are doing very well. We respect them for that. He and Bradley August come with a lot of experience,” he added.
Palace got the better of Wanderers (2-0) during their first-round clash and Mini vowed to turn things around when they clash (15:00) at Manenberg’s Greens on Saturday.
“I was not happy for many reasons. I left there and was determined to Improve from that day,” said ‘Terah’ as Mini is commonly known.
“Unfortunately I cannot exactly tell you what is going to happen, but I know we are going to play to get something out of the game and to enjoy the game as football is our passion. Look, it will be nice to get one over them but with the head coach (August) calling the shots, my job will be difficult, ” Mini concluded.
