FC Ravens say they haven’t played all their cards this season and they have yet to peak, and that winning the Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe League title over the weekend was the beginning of their broader aspirations.
They believe they have aces up their sleeves which they are keeping for the coming national play-offs which they qualified for after beating Gqeberha’s Old Grey 1-0 in the provincial decider at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Saturday.
It was a thunderous free kick from Ravens star player Samkelo Ngcungama from just outside the Old Grey 18-yard area that proved to be the difference between the sides on Saturday.
Club chair Mthobeli Vundla provided an analysis of their season so far.
“For a change this season we were not on top [of our stream]. We were chasing, opposite to the previous years where we were leading.
“But that helped us learn new lessons.
“I don’t think we are playing at our best. We are maturing; there’s more to come,” Vundla said.
The venue and the province for the national playoffs are still to be determined by Safa.
Vundla, who is a qualified orthodontist, said the provincial title for his team had been brewing for the past three years.
Last year, Ravens were the unofficial champions of the provincial league but couldn’t represent the province due to off-the-field reasons, which included court cases.
The season before that, they finished second in their inland stream and couldn’t make it to the decider.
“It’s been three years we have been close, but for whatever reasons we didn’t make it to the playoffs. I think we are doing something right; it’s not a coincidence that in previous seasons we were almost the winners of our stream,” Vundla said.
He said if they could crack the ceiling and be promoted to the second tier, the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC), football would be valuable for the region.
Bizana is a hub for football in the Eastern Cape.
To attest to that, they have four teams featuring in the ABC Motsepe League, including Ravens, Sinenkani, Spear of the Nation and Bizana Pondo City.
The Sisa Dukashe Stadium was painted in the red colours of their fans who travelled hundreds of kilometres by taxi.
Among those Ravens fans who sang their hearts out in the stands for the whole 90 minutes were the supporters of their rivals from their hometown.
“We owe the people of Bizana a lot [being promoted to MFC], we played the Heroes Cup at the Sisa Dukashe in pre-season.
“We had three teams from Bizana that were in the semifinals. The stadium was just Bizana that day, not taking away from the other teams.
“It means the people of Bizana are hungry for top-flight football,” Vundla said.
The last Eastern Cape team to earn promotion from the national ABC Motsepe league playoffs were Gqeberha’s Highbury.
Daily Dispatch