Black Leopards coach remains optimistic

The head coach of Black Leopards FC, Mr Joel “The Prophet” Masutha, is optimistic that the team will perform well in their remaining fixtures and escape the relegation axe at the end of the season. According to Mr Masutha, they are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the resumption of the league programme.

The domestic professional leagues, the DStv Premiership and the GladAfrica Championship, are currently in recess because of the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament hosted by Cameroon.

Black Leopards are perched in the second-last position on the log standings with 14 points, one ahead of Jomo Cosmos. With 13 matches to play before the end of the season, Masutha is adamant that Lidoda duvha will make a comeback in their remaining fixtures and finish their league programme in a respectable position on the log standings.

Masutha joined the Thohoyandou side from Pretoria Callies towards the end of last year. He guided the team in their last three games before the league programme came to a halt for the continental event. His first game with Leopards was when they lost 0-2 to Jomo Cosmos at the Vosloorus Stadium in Johannesburg. They came back home to play to a goalless draw with Uthongathi FC at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane before losing 0-1 to JDR Stars at the Soshanguve Giant Stadium outside Pretoria.

During an interview with Limpopo Mirror, Masutha said that during his short stay at the Thohoyandou side he had observed that Leopards had a good squad. According to him, the team played world-class football while the strikers disappointed at the goal finish. He said that they had been working on the strikers’ target shooting ever since the team resumed with their normal training sessions three weeks ago. “The fact that the team have managed to score only nine goals in 17 games is a clear indication that there is something wrong with the striking force,” he said.

He added that they had played a few friendly matches against teams in the GladAfrica Championship and ABC Motsepe League teams over the past three weeks as part of their preparations for the remaining part of the league programme.

Black Leopards will play against Pretoria Callies at the Lucas Moripe Stadium outside Pretoria in their first match on Saturday, 19 February.

Date:29 January 2022

By: Frank Mavhungu

Frank is a Human Resources Manager at the Department of Public Works in Limpopo. He is the longest serving correspondent of the Mirror, having joined us at the end of 1990.  He mainly writes sports reports and resides at Tsianda Village. In 2004, Frank won the National Castle League Award, an award for the best reporter in the SAB league in South Africa.

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