Former SA star Tovey fired as Aces coach

Former South Africa captain Neil Tovey was sacked as coach of second-from-bottom Premiership club Mpumalanga Black Aces on Thursday after a string of losses.

Aces conceded a 54-second goal when defeated 2-0 at home by Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday, three days after falling behind within two minutes en route to a four-goal thrashing from lowly AmaZulu.

Tovey, a commanding centreback who led Bafana Bafana (The Boys) to the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations title in Johannesburg, made a promising start to his four-month stint with Aces from eastern coal mining town Witbank.

They pulled off a shock away win over former African champions Orlando Pirates in the league and outplayed Moroka Swallows in the League Cup on another visit to Soweto.

But Tovey was unable to maintain the momentum and Aces have only five points from 12 matches, one more than Swallows, who have also changed coaches with local Gordon Igesund succeeding veteran German Rainer Zobel this month.—Sapa