“WE have disappointed many Eastern Cape people who had faith in us and those who have been with us through thick and thin at the club.”
This was the statement by Mthatha Bucks striker Mpho Erasmus on Saturday after the club was relegated from the National First Division (NFD) to the ABC Motsepe League.
They were relegated after a 3-0 defeat to Jomo Cosmos at Mthatha Stadium.
Bucks have been axed with two games left in their campaign. They have 21 points and even if they won their remaining games, they cannot accumulate enough points to survive.
This season saw five new teams serving their first stint in the league – Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, Richards Bay FC, Uthongathi, Super Eagles and Ubuntu Cape Town FC. Everyone assumed the relegation candidates would be one or more of these clubs. This has been the case in the last few seasons where the likes of Maluti FET College, Orbit College, Magesi FC, Roses United and Black Burn Rovers got relegated after their maiden NFD season.
Very few would have predicted Mthatha’s departure.
After Bucks’ impressive start to the campaign they were expected to be among at least the top six teams. But that was not the case, as they proceeded to drop out of the top five after 12 games to the bottom of the table. This only goes to prove what many sporting pundits say – it’s not how you start but how you finish.
Bucks’ problems started when the club fired coach Ian Palmer in November. They kept changing coaches after his departure, hiring and firing Duncan Lechesa and Julias Dube – and at one point playing with interim coaches in charge.
Erasmus concedes that this was another factor that led to their relegation.
He said: “As players we tried our best to save the club but this was beyond our control.
“The changes in the technical team affected us too. There are many players at the club and coaches struggled to find a formation that yielded results.”
