Post-Bartlett blues: Cape Town Spurs' dark days persist with eighth ...

Nazeer Allie

Three days after parting ways with Shaun Bartlett as head coach, Cape Town Spurs were five minutes away from securing their first points of the 2023/24 season against SuperSport United but succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday.

The Urban Warriors have now suffered an unprecedented eighth successive defeat and were hoping to start the post-Bartlett era with points to show for it, as newly appointed assistant coach Vasili Manousakis took care of things in the dugout.

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Sean Connor, recently named as Spurs' technical director following the loss to rivals Cape Town City, is presently juggling the role of interim head coach. However, he was absent during the match, as he's also collaborating with the club's owners to identify and hire a new main coach.

Manousakis introduced six changes to the team that faced City, and these alterations quickly paid dividends. Keagan Buchanan initiated an attack from midfield, sending the ball out wide, where it was delivered into the box. Therlo Moosa delighted the hopeful Spurs supporters with a composed header to find the back of the net.

Moosa came close to netting a second, but old vulnerabilities showed up when seasoned striker Bradley Grobler took advantage of Spurs' shaky defence, which has plagued them throughout the season.

Deep into the second half, SuperSport head coach Gavin Hunt eventually unleashed Terrence Dzvukamanja. With his first touch of the ball, the former Orlando Pirates forward put a timely low cross from the left flank to a perfectly positioned Grobler to end Spurs’ hopes of securing their first points.

SuperSport shot from fifth to second place, while Spurs remained anchored to the bottom of the table, with no points to show for their efforts as relegation fears cloud the club with a rich footballing history.

Elsewhere around the country, Stellenbosch ended a five-game winless streak with a convincing 3-0 victory against TS Galaxy at the Danie Craven Stadium. Thabo Moloisane, Devin Titus, and Antonio Van Wyk scored as Stellenbosch climbed to 10th place, one point ahead of TS Galaxy in 12th.

Moroka Swallows and Chippa United played to a goalless draw at the Dobsonville Stadium. At the same time, Polokwane City secured a 1-0 win over Richards Bay at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium thanks to Mokibelo Ramabu's goal in the 45th minute.