Highbury FC will be looking to score their first victory in the new season when they face Baroka FC on Sunday in a Motsepe Foundation Championship fixture at the Gelvandale Stadium (3pm).
The Gqeberha-based side are 12th on the log after playing to draws against the University of Pretoria at home and Kruger United away.
A win on Sunday will also see the Yellow Nation secure their first three points at home this season.
Highbury’s defensive midfielder, Matome Mabeba, said the team had been hard at work preparing for the Baroka encounter.
The 35-year-old former TS Sporting and Bakgakga player said head coach Kabelo Sibiya had used the Fifa break to sharpen their defence.
However, the player also said that lack of concentration towards the later stages of their matches resulted in the two recent draws.
“We score first, and we lack concentration in the late stages of the game,” Mabeba said.
“So, we did work on that during the international break.
“I think going forward, it will help us know that we need to focus later in the game because that is the time when we lack concentration, which is why we concede goals.
“We did work more on the defensive part also, which is a responsibility of the team as a whole.
“We can’t say it’s the job of our defenders only, the coach did work a lot on that, and I think in our next game against Baroka on Sunday, there will be a huge difference.”
Baroka are third on the log after playing to a 3-0 win against Midlands Wanderers in their season opener, which was followed by a 2-1 defeat to The Bees.
“I think we are ready to play Baroka this weekend. The guys are focused, even the coach is doing a lot at training, so that we can go to the game well-prepared,” Mabeba said
“The only thing we need to fix is defending. We need to defend as a team so that we do not concede.”
Mabeba joined Highbury last season from JDR Stars.
The Herald
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