Mthombeni relieved after Casric end losing streak

Casric Stars coach Bucs Mthombeni admits being relieved after they returned to winning ways with a 4-0 victory over Leicesterford City at Solomon Mahlangu Stadium on Saturday in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

Casric had suffered two successive defeats to Kruger United and the Bees and were behind in the title race.

But with log leaders Milford losing 0-2 to Midlands Wanderers at the weekend, Casric are now two points behind, having played the same number of matches (14).

Mthombeni said they needed that win to end the year on a high note

“We played three away games in nine days, two in Mpumalanga and one in Venda. It was not easy,” Mthombeni told Sowetan yesterday.

“It was a relief, more especially to the players and to our supporters. Even though the gap between us and Milford was like five points, now we have closed the gap to two.”

Mthombeni also stressed that they need to improve their away form, as they seem to struggle on the road following their defeats to the Bees and Kruger.

“It’s a process; to win the league, it’s a marathon. We all know that. I just hope the players come back in good shape and then if need be, we beef up a little bit,” he said.

“Good news is that we got more home games, nine of them in the second round and six away when we come back.

“Actually, our away run is not good. We need to make sure that we improve on our away games to pick up some points.

“But I think this win was good for us to bounce back after we lost two matches.”

Elsewhere, Cape Town City continued their good run this weekend after they edged Highbury 1-0 at Athlone Stadium on Saturday.

The Citizens have now secured three wins in succession, which includes four wins and will end the year in fourth position.

NFD Results

Baroka 0-1 Venda; Upington 0-1 Hungry Lions; CPT City 1-0 Highbury; Wanderers 2-0 Milford; Leopards 2-2 Gomora; Casric 4-0 Leicesterford; Lerumo 2-1 Pretoria University; Bees 3-1 Kruger.