Golden Arrows head coach, Shaun Bartlett, is not giving up on his club’s chances of surviving relegation, despite suffering a 1-0 loss to Maritzburg United on Sunday.
The Team of Choice came out tops in the KwaZulu-Natal derby, with Orlando Smeekes’ volley ensuring that Abafana Bes’thende remain in 16th position on the table. Arrows have collected a meagre 13 points in 24 games, while the team in 15th place, Free State Stars, have 21 points from the same number of games. Many are of the belief that it would take a miracle for the Durban side to avoid going down to the National First Division, but Bartlett says they will fight to the bitter end.
“The energy and intensity of the team throughout (the) game was much better and we put Maritzburg under a lot of pressure. We possibly should have had a penalty after Bongi Ntuli was fouled inside the box, but when you’re at the bottom all these decisions seem to go against you," he told the club’s official website.
"We have a tough game on Wednesday when we face Ajax away but we have to keep believing that all is not over. Only when mathematically its (sic) not possible anymore, we will stop fighting for our survival. So until that day, we will continue fighting,” he concluded.
Arrows’ next game is against Ajax Cape Town away from home on Wednesday, and they will be eyeing nothing less than three points.
