Langa-based side Hot Spurs FC bowed out of the Safa Cape Town Coke Cup after they lost 6-5 on penalties to Mitchell’s Plain’s Highlands Park FC, in Mitchell’s Plain, at the weekend.
The newly formed club got their first taste of Coke Cup action this season, and looked certain to progress through to the next round of knockout games.
Midfielder Bhayi Mnguzi gave Hot Spurs the lead in the first half when he found the back of the net from the penalty spot, in their round of 256 match.
Head coach, Msinenelo “Soli” Manyakanyaka, said the game went well and looked to have been wrapped up. But, a lapse in concentration at the back cost them the game.
“A penalty shoot is always anyone’s game. We were minutes away from victory before they got a penalty and equalised to take it to a penalty shootout,” said Soli.
“Our boys did a great job but their lack of experience showed in the final minutes of the game – that’s when we conceded the penalty. Highlands beat us 6-5 on penalties,” he said.
Hot Spurs joined the Langa Local Football Association (LFA) last year.
And, Soli, a former defender at Langa Citizen FC, has taken up the role of senior head coach and also coaches the under-14 junior team.
“The club was founded last year and we started out with one senior team, an under-11 and under-14 team. Our senior team started playing in the second division. We then won promotion and now compete in the Premier Division,” he said.
Soli said they’ve now got four teams in the LFA, with the additional senior team competing in the second division.
Despite the unfavorable result in the Coke Cup, they will now shift their focus to the league and knockout cup.
They are currently sixth on the log with three wins and four losses from their eight games played.
This weekend, they will look to climb the table when they take on Express United.
* In other action, Langa’s Citizens FC beat Avendale Athletico 5-4 on penalties and Everton FC beat Khayelitsha’s Mobz Academy 2-0.