At one stage they were Absa Premiership title contenders, but now all seventh-placed Wits are playing for is a place in the top half of the competition. And that will rest heavily on their minds when they take on sixth-placed Free State Stars at the Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday night.
Wits were in the running for the championship, but losses this year to Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Santos and Ajax Cape Town have dented their hopes. They are 10 points behind leaders SuperSport United and, with seven games to go, it’s hard to see the Clever Boys reviving their aspirations.
Stars have only lost twice this year, but yet they trail SuperSport by nine points. The Bethlehem outfit have conceded 10 goals in their last two outings though — a 4-1 loss to Chiefs and a 6-1 thrashing by SuperSport — and Wits have probably looked favourably at this recent weakness.
Stars captain Duncan Lechesa, however, believes that won’t happen again. ”It was not good to lose the way we did, but we went back to the drawing board and worked on what happened,” Lechesa said.
”Wits must not think they can do the same to us because we have improved. We have worked on our game and are ready to move up on the table.”
Lechesa also said his team’s ambition is to finish as high up on the table as possible; winning the league would be a bonus.
”I can’t say we’re aiming to win the league title. For that to happen, SuperSport, Ajax and Santos have to drop points. And it has happened, SuperSport lost to AmaZulu, so anything is possible in this league.
”But we’re under no illusion and we’re just looking to finish as high up as possible. Where we are now is fine, but we can and will do better,” he said confidently.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30pm. — Sapa