Cape Town City fairytale starting to mirror Leicester City's dream run in England

11 December 2016 - 13:33 By Nick Said
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Cape Town City have more peaks to climb this season according to coach Eric Tinkler in the wake of the club’s remarkable victory in the Telkom Knockout final in Polokwane on Saturday.

City‚ who first kicked a ball competitively under four months ago‚ defeated SuperSport United 2-1 to lift a maiden piece of silverware for the club and beg the question‚ how far can this team go?

They currently top the league‚ albeit having played more games than their major title rivals‚ and are on a fantastic run of form.

It is a rise not dissimilar to Leicester City in the English Premier League last season‚ where everybody expected The Foxes’ form to dip‚ but instead they got stronger as the season wore on and eventually lifted the league trophy in one of the greatest stories in the history of sport.

City have now won nine of their last 10 matches‚ their only blemish a 1-1 draw at Kaizer Chiefs in a game they probably should have been victorious in too.

They have beaten African champions Mamelodi Sundowns‚ Bidvest Wits and now SuperSport‚ three big-spending sides‚ in that run‚ a statement of their quality of ever there was one.

They have also scored two goals or more in eight of those 10 matches‚ showing this is not a side that grinds out results‚ but a team that plays with intent and flair.

A jubilant Tinkler‚ who claimed the first title of his career after losses with Orlando Pirates in the African Confederation Cup and Nedbank Cup finals‚ says the goal‚ for now‚ remains 30 points in the league and safety from relegation.

“You just keep climbing game by game‚” he said.

“Our target is no different‚ to hit that 30-point mark. We need another two wins to achieve that‚ then we start aiming higher after that.”

Tinkler is the glue that holds this team together‚ but typically he handed all the credit for Saturday’s win to his players.

“I’m very‚ very proud of the boys. The character they have shown over the past four months‚ the work ethic they have had‚ the determination they have shown. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved in a very short space of time.

“And truth be told‚ they deserve it. Right from day one when we beat Polokwane [City] … since then I saw something special and four months later you lift your first trophy. It’s phenomenal.”

Tinkler felt his side were worthy winners and that they should have scored more goals before SuperSport briefly equalised.

“We knew that we needed to score the second‚ I said that at halftime‚ but we needed to simplify our game. Our transition on attack was very‚ very good‚ they didn’t know how to deal with us‚ but we were looking for the difficult pass.

“We could have played it simple‚ we would have created those chances and buried them. We could have been three or four up at one stage.

“Then we allowed them in through the back door from a set-piece‚ which we knew was a threat. But immediately after that‚ very simple one-two‚ one-two‚ we get into their box and buried it.”

Tinkler hinted at a “serious” after party for the players last night‚ but they will have to immediately turn attention back to the league as they host Platinum Stars on Tuesday night.

Mother City neighbours Ajax won the MTN8 title in 2015 but then immediately afterwards went winless for nine games.

Tinkler will be wary of falling into the same trap of his players dropping their intensity with one trophy already in the cabinet.

- TMG Digital

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