Highbury banking on Gelvandale fortress against struggling Leopards

Highbury coach Kabelo Sibiya hopes to build on their win against Cape Town City when they play relegation candidates Black Leopards at the Gelvandale Stadium on Friday (3.30pm).

The Gqeberha side defeated City 3-1 in their previous Motsepe Foundation Championship league encounter over the weekend.

Mervin Boji, Simphiwe Ndlovu and Tsepo Cetywayo scored for Highbury, ending the Citizens’ league unbeaten streak of 11 games.

Cayden Fortune scored the only goal for City.

The win moved the Yellow Nation up to ninth place on the log, with 26 points from 21 games.

Ahead of the success, coach Sibiya, who still hopes to be promoted this season, stated that getting maximum points in their league’s remaining games is critical to keeping those hopes alive, while also creating a gap between them and the teams below.

Highbury are only 10 points away from securing a promotional play-off spot, which is currently held by Cape Town City with 36 points.

“We are back here at Gelvandale, and it looks like this is a home ground that loves this football club; we are doing very well here,” Sibiya said.

“We are also grateful for the opportunity to play at the university, where we will receive additional support and play on a better pitch.

“We have been very strong at home, so we are banking on that, and we are confident that we will win our next home match against Black Leopards.”

Sibiya understands that playing against a team fighting for league survival will be difficult.

He acknowledges the challenge of facing Leopards but remains confident in their victory.

Lidoda Duvha are at the bottom of the MFC table, with 16 points from 20 matches.

They are only six points away from survival and need a win against Highbury to close the gap on the two teams ahead of them.

The last time Highbury and Leopards met, the Yellow Nation won 1-0.

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