Vreman rues missed chances as City fall short in promotion bid

Speaking exclusively to SABC Sport, Vreman reflected on a frustrating afternoon at Athlone Stadium where City were held to a 1-1 draw by Magesi FC.

The Citizens needed a victory by at least two goals to keep their promotion ambitions alive, but despite creating several opportunities, they were unable to find the clinical edge required. 

Vreman admitted that his team lost momentum after the break, with their second-half display ultimately proving costly.

"The most difficult part of football is scoring goals and you see it every game with us. It's about scoring goals, and I think that was possible, but our second half performance was not what we wanted."

READ: Magesi survival fight goes down to the wire

City’s squad featured several experienced campaigners, including Lorenzo Gordinho, Keagan Dolly and Miguel Timm, but the club was unable to recover from a difficult start to the playoffs. 

Defeats at home to Milford FC and away to Magesi in Seshego left the team with little margin for error heading into the final round of fixtures.

While questions have been raised about the contribution of the senior players, Vreman defended the experienced members of his squad.

Vreman also expressed disappointment at seeing a strong league campaign end without reward. Cape Town City finished second in the Motsepe Foundation Championship standings and entered the playoffs with high expectations but failed to produce the performances needed to secure an immediate return to the top flight.

The Dutch mentor acknowledged that while the league season provided plenty of positives, the team’s showing during the playoffs fell below the standard they had set throughout the campaign.

"If I look back at the whole season, I'm really disappointed with the playoffs. We ended second on the league table which isn't bad, but you don't end up with a prize and that's frustrating because it was a good season."

Milford FC lead the PSL Promotion/Relegation Playoffs standings with six points from three matches, while Magesi FC are second on four points after the same number of games. The final fixture will determine who joins the Betway Premiership next season. 

The Stallions must avoid defeat in Limpopo to secure promotion to the top flight, while Magesi must claim victory to preserve their Premiership status.

The decisive encounter takes place at Seshego Stadium on Saturday at 15:00 and will be broadcast live on SABC 1.