Despite taking his team to the brink of promotion back to the Premier League, Lamontville Golden Arrows coach Shaun Bartlett was not showing any signs of celebration in the wake of the 3-2 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Thanda Royal Zulu on Wednesday.
Golden Arrows now just need a single point from their remaining two matches to make a swift return to the top-flight following their relegation at the end of the last campaign.
It will be a personal triumph for Bartlett too, who has shown himself to be among the most astute young managers in the country this season for the way he has rebuilt Abafana Bes’thende after they lost most of their big names following their demotion.
“This victory showed we have been working towards our goal with the discipline needed and that we do not need favors from anyone but continue to work as a team,” he said.
Bartlett admits his side were made to work though and again lauded their fighting spirit.
“Underestimating opposition had never been part of our vocabulary but once again our slow start to the game allowed Thanda to dominate possession in the first half and take the lead through a corner,” Bartlett said.
“Another well taken free-kick to equalise from Mabhuti Khenyeza brought us back into the game but a lapse of concentration gifted them the second goal through a in-swinging corner and miscalculation from our goalkeeper.
“Our fighting spirit and the will to win has been the foundation of this team and we again showed that we possessed that believe to come back every time we faced with difficult situations. Our second goal through Nkanyiso Cele came at the right time as it changed my teamtalk at halftime.
“The next goal in a game like this is always important and we fortunately applied enough pressure to get the lead and third goal through Zukile Mkhize.
“The last 15 minutes was a tense affair as Thanda really pushed us all the way and we defended for our lives and the victory we desperately needed.”
Golden Arrows lead the National First Division by six points from second-placed Jomo Cosmos. They in turn are four points ahead of Cape Town All Stars in the second promotion play-off place, with Black Leopards a point back and Thanda the only other likely side to make the playoffs two points behind.
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