Orbit College coach Pogiso Makhoye says his side will focus on their own performances as they continue their fight for survival in the Betway Premiership after defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Orbit College coach Pogiso Makhoye accepted his side’s defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns, conceding that the defending champions carried a level of quality his team ultimately could not match.
Orbit suffered their tenth defeat of the season after going down 2–0 to the Brazilians, a result that leaves the Rustenburg-based side still battling near the bottom of the Betway Premiership table in 15th place.
The match came just days after Orbit had secured a morale-boosting 2–1 victory over TS Galaxy FC, raising hopes they could produce another upset. However, second-half strikes from Miguel Reisinho and Iqraam Rayners ended any hopes of another surprise result early in the second half.
Despite the setback, Orbit still hold a five-point cushion over bottom-placed Magesi FC, although the Limpopo side have two games in hand over the Rustenburg outfit. Even so, Makhoye admitted his side were beaten by a superior opponent.
“We had a great game plan because we wanted to catch them on the break,” Makhoye told the media after the match.
“We gave them a gift of a goal like we did in the first leg. It was one of those days when you had a plan, but we lacked the tactical endurance.”
Makhoye added that his side could not match the visitors superiority on the night.
“Unfortunately we have to do with what we have; we are a small team playing with the defending champions, and even if they see quality in our team, they can take on that quality.
“If we had to lose, this was the team we would have wanted to lose against. That is why it was crucial to win against TS Galaxy. We needed those points on the board preparing for this game. Now we need to go into the next game against Siwelele FC and see what we can get from that.”
The fight for survival remains tight, with just five points separating ninth-placed Richards Bay FC from 15th-placed Orbit College. With several matches still remaining before the end of the season, Makhoye believes the relegation battle will remain fiercely contested.
However, he insists his team’s focus will remain on their own performances rather than the results of other clubs.
“We are focused on ourselves because if we start looking at other teams, that is when the panic buttons go off,” he said.
“We still have nine games to go, and it’s like a mini-league, especially with the teams from number 12 down because it’s only a three to five point difference.
“We will fight until the end, but we will focus on ourselves. We don’t need to look at other teams because we know what we have and what we can do.”
* Obakeng Meletse is Independent Media’s multi-sport writer. For fresh video content, follow our YouTube channel The Clutch