Stars out to collect early season points

PORT Elizabeth side Morning Stars will be targeting more early season points when they clash with Tembu Royals in a Safa Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe Second Division game at Zwide Stadium today (7pm).

After a sloppy start to the 2014-15 season, Stars will be looking to stay on the winning trail.

Stars manager Siyabulela Isaac was full of praise for his charges' latest performance in which they outclassed struggling neighbours Cacadu United 1-0 at Alexandria High School last week.

Isaac said the league was a marathon and they were taking each game one step at the time.

"The players are starting to work together and we are also scoring goals, which keeps the team motivated," he said.

"We are hungry for early season points, so it is important for us to maintain our winning rhythm.

"The team is well prepared for the game and the spirit in the camp is high."

Despite the shaky start, he said they were not panicking because the season was still young, but they wanted to collect as many points as possible before the Christmas break.

Isaac said the home games were important to them and they did not want to disappoint their fans so they would be fighting for maximum points at Zwide Stadium.

Meanwhile, another Port Elizabeth outfit, Real City, will be determined to collect three points when they face Tornado at Mdantsane's Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London tonight.

The Motherwell team will be determined to bounce back after they were demolished 3-1 by league rookies FC Elliot at Motherwell's N9 Stadium last week.

City coach Bonke Namba said he was concerned with their poor performance, but he believed his side were ready for Tornado.

"We played very well during the Nedbank Cup and I was hoping we would transfer our great cup form to our league campaign," he said. "We don't know much about Tornado but they are a good side, having reached the Nedbank Cup provincial finals.

"They will be a tricky side to beat, but we are prepared for anything they throw at us.

"It's not a secret that we lost last week. It's part of football.

"But we will redeem ourselves by beating Tornado at home because we are hungry for maximum points," Namba said.

He said preparations had gone well and they were ready to rectify their mistakes.

"We do create a lot of chances but our problem is to convert those into goals, and that's exactly what we were working on during the week," he said.

"We will go out there with our heads up, ready to collect all the three points on offer."

A third PE side in the league, Highbury, are aiming to continue their good form when they play Jeffreys Bay Milan at J- Bay's Tokyo Sexwale Stadium tomorrow (3pm).

Highbury want to defend their unbeaten league record after playing four games since the season began.

"The players are playing according to my instruction so far and we would like to continue with our winning streak because we want to be in the top five bracket of the log standings before the Christmas break," Highbury coach Garth Dickinson said. - Mthetho Ndoni