Highbury head coach Kabelo “KB” Sibiya firmly believes a top-three finish in the Motsepe Foundation Championship is achievable this season.
The Gqeberha side are in their debut season after being crowned the 2024 ABC Motsepe League champions.
Highbury are now sitting in ninth position on the log with 22 points from 16 matches, not too shabby a start for the newcomers.
The log is pretty congested with only six points separating them from their target spot and Sibiya believes getting positive results against the Hungry Lions and JDR Stars could double their chances of a third-place finish.
The Yellow Nation had some time off last week as they were not part of the Nedbank Cup competition, which they used to prepare for their next league match against the Hungry Lions on Saturday in Upington.
“We are sitting ninth on the log and there are so many seasoned teams below us like Cape Town Spurs and Venda that have been in this league for a long time,” Sibiya said.
“We have 22 points from 16 matches and if you check the records from the previous season, other teams struggled to get to 20 points in 16 matches.
“If you also check the gap between the teams above us, we can easily go into the top three if we win three matches from now.
“So, as a new team, I believe that we have done well, we need to be grateful for what we have.
“To be honest, we can still get better with the quality we have in the team, I believe we can do better.
“If we don’t lose in the next two away matches against the Hungry Lions and JDR Stars, we stand a very good chance of finishing in the top three.
“Honestly, the Hungry Lions and JDR are the most difficult teams to play against in the league, so if we get four points in those games, I’ll be happy.”
The coach said since the Motsepe Foundation Championship was a promotional league, the biggest prize was reaching the top three.
Sibiya said his biggest task was making sure that the Eastern Cape had a team in the league next season.
“We know that this is a promotional league, there is no top-eight competition that we are playing at the end of the season.
“So, the bigger picture or the best achievement is reaching number one, two, and three.
“As much as we want to save the team, we are also looking for an opportunity if it presents itself to try to finish in the top three.
“But for me, honestly, my big mission is to try to make sure that this province has a Motsepe Foundation Championship team again next season.”
The Herald
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