While Andries Ulderink was pleased to see Cape Town City move top of the Motsepe Foundation Championship table with a 1-0 victory over Magesi on Monday night, the Dutch coach was quick to caution that there is still a long way to go in the 2026/27 campaign.
Emile Witbooi scored the only goal of the game just two minutes in, before City dug in to secure all three points and move above Magesi, although only on goals scored, with the two sides level on both points (20) and goal difference (+7).
“I thought we started quite well today [Monday], playing nice in between the lines, and we kept possession,” Ulderink said after the game.
“But I think after 20-25 minutes, our opponent pressed a little bit more forward, and there was still some good moments, but we were not so good on the ball as in previous games. So sometimes it was counterattacks, two times an offside goal. So, the second half, we controlled it again a little bit more, and we were not so calm in the last phase. We started shooting, crossing, making an action. So that’s something what we really need to improve.”
The result also extended City’s winning run to four matches, with Ulderink encouraged by the team’s progress, while beating a Magesi side that had yet to taste defeat this season provided another welcome confidence boost.
“Every time you win, you get a certain feeling,” Ulderink said.
“But I thought, in general, we’ve started playing better, and also today it was not completely bad. And also compliments for the opponent here. I think before this they didn’t have a loss yet, so you can see it’s a strong team, and so yes, the wins are important, but also the development in how we play on the ball is, in general, quite good.”
Despite being delighted with City’s current position, however, Ulderink was keen to stress that league tables at this stage of the campaign count for relatively little, insisting that the real business will only begin to take shape towards the end of the season.
“For me it’s the last four or five games; then the table becomes really interesting,” Ulderink added.
“Now we play Upington away. Look, Upington away or Magesi at home? Who do you like to play?
“Orbit, I don’t understand that they are in the bottom of the league. After 25 minutes, they gave us a really hard time in how they played. So, it’s so close in this league, and I think now there are six or seven teams very close together? If you lose twice, then you’re seventh in the league.
“So that’s how it is in this league, and it’s a strong league. It’s a strong league.”