Tinkler has faith that City can turn things around

Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler insists he won't change his philosophy in a bid to end their winless start to 2024 against Moroka Swallows at the Athlone Stadium on Tuesday, 7 May.

Kick-off is at 7.30 pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

The Citizens were contenders for a top-two finish going into the mid-season break after winning nine of their opening 16 matches in the DStv Premiership.

But a poor run of form in the second half of the season has seen Tinkler's side drop out of contention for Caf Champions League football as they have failed to win a single game this year.

A 2-0 defeat to Orlando Pirates at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday, 1 May extended their winless sequence to 10 matches since City beat local rivals Cape Town Spurs 2-0 on New Year's Eve.

The Mother City outfit are 14 points adrift of Stellenbosch (2nd) in seventh place with four fixtures remaining in 2023-24, although Tinkler believes they're just one win away from turning the corner.

Swallows gave their survival hopes a massive shot in the arm with a 2-1 victory over Chippa United at the Buffalo City Stadium on Wednesday, 1 May which halted a four-match winless run.

Musa Nyatama's side have plummeted down the standings after winning just two of their 10 games this year. However, they managed to maintain the six-point cushion to relegation-threatened Richard Bay and find themselves in 13th position.

Nyatama admitted the Chilli Boys result gave them a bit of breathing space, but stressed the importance of picking up as many points as possible in the run-in.

WHAT WAS SAID?

Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler

"I've been in this situation many times before, this is not my first rodeo here. I've been in situations where clubs were in dire straits ... Maritzburg 12 points after 21 games, so I go there and just keep working and I do exactly what I do now.

"I don't change, I don't become someone different because of negative results ... I am still the same human being, still the same coach, following the same coaching philosophy.

"It (their current slump in form) is affecting everyone but you always believe that you are one win away from turning it around and that's what has to continue. We must get that one win under the belt to turn things around."

Moroka Swallows interim coach Musa Nyatama

"We want to save the status of the club, that's the most important thing for us. We will take it one game at a time and see how far we can go with the four matches we have.

"The maximum points away from home will help us a lot on the log. The Chippa win gives us a bit of a breather. We knew coming to the game that Richards Bay had won against AmaZulu.

"Now we have again a six-point gap over them. Every match from now is a cup final, we still have four matches and 12 points to fight for."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Cape Town City - Tinkler will be demanding a better performance from Darwin Gonzalez in particular after he was caught in possession inside his own half, which led to the Buccaneers' second goal. The 29-year-old Venezuelan winger recently scored his second goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows, having managed six in his first full season at the club last term.

Moroka Swallows - Gabadinho Mhango holds the key to the Dube Birds' bid to retain their top-flight status, having kick-started their comeback against Chippa with a well-taken free-kick to restore parity. The 31-year-old Malawian striker took his tally for the campaign to six goals, two more than he achieved at AmaZulu last term.

HEAD-TO-HEAD (Last Five DStv Premiership Meetings)

Matches - 5

CT City wins - 3

Swallows wins - 1

Draws - 1