Lehlohonolo Seema: Siwelele will bounce back after poor run of form in the league

Lehlohonolo Seema spoke with a hoarse voice during his post-match press conference following the home loss to Orlando Pirates in the Betway Premiership - his cracking sound somewhat perfectly narrating Siwelele’s challenges in recent weeks.

Siwelele burst onto the football scene this season after purchasing the status of SuperSport United. Upon their arrival, they made all sorts of promises about bringing football back to the people of Mangaung, following the extinction of Bloemfontein Celtic.

But boy, that seems to have been a false alarm, as cracks are already showing in the club’s administration and the team's performances.

Club chairman Calvin Le John recently made a public announcement stating that the team has been travelling to matches under 600 km by bus to cut costs. He also explained that they’ve parted ways with chief executive Stan Matthews and assistant coach Andre Arendse, who had arrived with the inherited assets from SuperSport.

And that’s not all. Siwelele recently exposed their inept administration by agreeing to sign Keagan Johannes on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns on deadline day—only for the deal to fall through at the 11th hour after the club failed to notice that they had already filled their loan quota.

The team’s results on the pitch have been as poor as their administration. Siwelele have lost six games since the start of the season, won only one—the opener—and drawn one.

So, after losing to the in-form Pirates at home, at Toyota Stadium, Seema’s hoarse voice was a fitting narration of how topsy-turvy things have been at the club.

He tried to maintain a positive attitude, though, saying that the home supporters—who’ve rallied behind the team through thick and thin since the start of the season—will witness the team secure their second win of the season when they face Marumo Gallants in the Mangaung derby at Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium on Saturday (3 PM kick-off).

“It hasn’t been easy. It’s strenuous to lose like this, but the kind of support that we have can only help us do better,” Seema said. “So, come Sunday, I’m telling you, Siwelele supporters must come in numbers because they’ll witness the second victory at the slaughterhouse.

“Our team is performing well. So, I’m expecting them to fight, and we’ll give them a fight. So, come after 90 minutes, we’ll be the winners.”

Seema suggested they can build on their performance against Pirates, having played what he called their best game of the season—despite falling short after Oswin Appollis’ solo goal.

“I think from today, I can see that the team is heading in the right direction,” Seema said. “I think after all the games we’ve played, today we showed character. We were fighting.

“But what made me happy is that we were more structured against a very good team. If we can play like this, come Sunday, we are turning the corner.

“With the quality that they have, for us to keep them at bay for more than 80 minutes was impressive. It’s a plus for us. But you see, when you defend for 80 minutes against a team like Pirates, you start thinking that’s a win and begin to sit too deep. That created problems.”