Ashley Cupido of Cape Town Spurs is challenged by Nthabeleng Tshoba of Casric Stars during their PSL promotion/relegation playoff at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday. Ashley Cupido of Cape Town Spurs is challenged by Nthabeleng Tshoba of Casric Stars during their PSL promotion/relegation playoff at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday. Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
Cape Town — Ten-man Cape Town Spurs overcame adversity and best Casric Stars 1-0 at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday.
The Urban Warriors placed one foot in the DStv Premiership as they stretched their lead to six points at the top of the standings and now need just a single point to secure promotion.
Defeat for Casric means they have no chance of advancing to the top flight and now means Maritzburg United need to win their last two games against Casric and Spurs.
Morne Nel scored his first goal of the season when he broke the deadlock with a well-placed goal in the 73rd minute.
Against all odds, Cape Town Spurs get the job done ✅
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) June 7, 2023
10-man Spurs win 1-0 at the Athlone Stadium and move to nine points - six clear of Maritzburg 👏 pic.twitter.com/I3cS8uuCx9
Having gone a man down, Spurs looked more energetic than their opponents and were rewarded when Nel curled his shot from outside the box and into the bottom corner.
Spurs headed into the match knowing that a victory against an almost-eliminated Casric might see them place one foot into the top flight.
The host's coach Shaun Bartlett opted for continuity as he made just one change in the team that defeated Maritzburg with Chumani Butsaka coming into the fold for Asanele Velebayi on the right wing.
The visiting Casric threw everything they had, setting up in a 4-3-3 formation.
The two teams showed early intent, contributing to lively battle but it was in the 23rd minute that Spurs created the best chance of the opening exchanges, Casric needing last-ditch defending to deny them the opening goal.
Midfielder Therlo Moosa was the first to take a crack at goal, but his effort crashed off the crossbar before defender Zebulon Mtshweni reacted quickly to deny Ashley Cupido from heading in on the rebound.
Although the match was even in terms of play, Spurs seemed to cause havoc for the Casric defence with their relentless crosses into the penalty box.
If not for the swarm of bodies in front of the goal for Casric, Spurs could have taken a halftime lead when Cupido and Jarrod Moroole's shots were blocked before Clayton Daniels ballooned over from close range in the 40th minute.
The conversations in the halftime break would've been similar for both sides with Casric needing to claim victory to have any chance of promotion while Spurs’ home crowd spurred them on.
The home team rang the offensive changes at halftime as super-sub Luvuyo Phewa was summoned as part of two substitutes.
For all the good momentum the hosts had built, they were put on the back foot by a bizarre refereeing decision that saw Spurs frontman Cupido sent off in the 66th minute.
The 22-year-old seemed to clash heads with an opposing player, but surprisingly received his marching orders having seemed the calmer party.
IOL Sport