From week one of the Safa Regional Women’s League, Hout Bay United Football Community (HBUFC) made their promotion intentions clear.
After a gritty performance that saw them dispatch Manenberg Ladies in the first game of the season back in April, the team’s coaching staff said after the game that this is the season which would culminate in them winning promotion.
At the weekend, the HBUFC Ladies achieved that goal in play-off matches played in Gansbaai as they secured a spot in Safa Sasol Women’s League.
After being crowned Cape Town regional winners, beating Hotspurs Ladies 3-0 in the final play-off, they went on to represent the region in provincial play-offs.
Looking at the final standings of the log in the three play-off matches they played, on paper it would be easy for anyone to say they found the going easy.
But that would be taking away all the hard work the team put in preparing for the games. They finished the play-offs with a record of three wins from three, scoring a whooping 18 goals while only conceding three.
Captain Jennifer Martin again showed her leadership prowess as she led from the front, netting 10 of the 18 goals, leaving the play-offs as top scorer.
She had also led the charge in their Cape Town regional play-offs against Hotspurs where she netted twice in the final.
Having also mentioned to the Sentinel about the club’s three-year plan to make it to the Sasol League, club coach and CEO Dali Fekenisi, says the mood in the Hout Bay community is electrifying after this achievement and that the women have outdone themselves this season.
On the expectations in the Sasol league, Fekenisi said they plan to carry on where they left off.
“Our plan is to go out there and compete with the best. We are not going there to add numbers but keep the momentum from the play-offs.
The team is hungry, they have been longing to play in Sasol. Now it’s time for them to go out there and show the character that they can compete and challenge for the honours,” said Fekenisi.
Speaking on the weekend results, Fekenisi said fitness levels played a major role in the outcome of the results as they expected a lot of football.
“In our preparations for the play-offs the focus was mainly on fitness because we knew that we are going to play a lot of football. I requested our fitness coach to prepare the team for that and it actually paid off. Ours was just to make sure that we are tactically and technically astute and be disciplined in our structure.
“I must say that hunger and determination were the key,” he said.
