First division side Orbit College held PSL campaigners Cape Town City to a goalless draw in a relegation/promotion play-offs match played in the Mother City on Saturday afternoon.
City are hoping to use the play-offs to retain their status in the Betway Premiership. They were joined in the play-offs by Motsepe Foundation Championship outfits Orbit and Casric Stars.
During the week, the opening match of play-offs got off to a poor start with Casric Stars also holding Orbit College to a goalless draw. Orbit may be on top of the play-off table but they are dropping points at an alarming rate. This will make their journey of getting promotion to the PSL very bumpy. In the two matches they have played, they have registered as many draws. Losing four points is just too costly to bear.
Orbit ended third
Orbit earned their ticket to these play-offs after they finished their league season at number three behind Durban City and Casric. City gained automatic promotion to the land of honey and milk in the PSL. The Cape are part of the playoffs after they finished 15th on Betway Premiership table.
Saturday’s match was an evenly contested affair, and credit should go to the young Orbit players who did not show the PSL boys any respect. They went toe-to-toe against the former MTN8 and Telkom Knockout winners and caused some anxious moments for the home side.
Missed chances
City too missed a glut of chances and should have buried the first division side as early as the first half. But Orbit recovered well and started knocking on the door and causing trouble for the City backline. Towards the end, Orbit had City by the throat and instead of squeezing hard, they started tickling and City escaped with a point.
The next play-offs match will see Casric hosting City at KwaMhlanga Stadium in Mpumalanga.
Cape Town Spurs is the only club from the first division to have won the play-offs since the 2018/19 season. PSL clubs have always used their strengths and weight to survive and keep their status in the top-tier league.
Upcoming fixtures:
June 18: Orbit v CT City
June 21: Orbit v Casric
June 25: Casric v CT City
June 28: CT City v Orbit.
