Nelson Mandela Bay’s Bay Stars showed why it holds the key to bring back top-flight soccer to the city with another resounding victory at home yesterday. The locals scored three unanswered goals at the Gelvandale Stadium against a determined Mthatha Bucks side. Although the visitors tried their best to disturb the net, they could not manage to trouble the score card in the last match of the Vodacom League season.
Farouk Abrahams drew first blood in the 8th minute and Wade Jooste increased Stars’ tally to 2 – 0 in the 38th minute when his header sailed graciously in the back of the net. The score line remained unchanged until after the players went off to the change rooms for the half-time breather.
Farouk Abrahams scored another goal 12 minutes after the start of the second half and although Stars continued to push forward they could not convert any more chances. As a result the score line remained unchanged on 3 – 0 until the final whistle sounded.
Bay Stars Managing Director Tony Lovegrove said he is excited about the prospects for this energetic side who managed to end only three points adrift of FC Tornado, the top side on the Eastern Cape League log. Stars end on 61 points while Tornado, who will now contest the play-offs for the National First Division, ended on 64 points.
“We can especially be proud of our achievements if you bear in mind that this is our first season as a club after being established in September last year and we already managed to get established clubs to take note of the new kid on the block.
“We will be back next season with a much greater onslaught as we have learnt valuable lessons and our players gained experience that will be invaluable as we forge ahead to bring soccer solutions for the region.
“There is no reason why Nelson Mandela Bay cannot use these initiatives to ensure the longevity of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and Premier Soccer League participation in the long run as we intend building a side with its DNA entrenched with that of the city,” he said.
Lovegrove also thanked the players and the technical team for their efforts that played a major role in recording the successes the club enjoyed thus far.
We will be back next season with a few more surprises for Nelson Mandela Bay and the soccer-loving public, he added.
Coach Graham Harrison said although the club narrowly missed winning the league, he must give all credit to the players who performed well under difficult circumstances at times.
“We must sit down and re-assess to see how we can improve, but we can take many positives from this season and our players grew tremendously in stature, putting us on the right track to ultimately achieve our goal of competing in the Premier Soccer League,” Coach Harrison said.
