Malawi football exports Robert Ng’ambi and Gerald Phiri Jnr’s club Platinum Stars FC has edged dangerously close to losing its South Africa Premier League (PSL) status following a goalless draw with Jomo Cosmos during a promotion-relegation play-off clash at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg on Wednesday night.
The result means the Stars are at the bottom of the three-team play-offs with a single point from two games (a loss and a draw) while Cosmos are second with two points from two straight draws. Black Leopards are at the summit of the table with four points after a win and a draw.
Each side remains with two games to conclude the play-offs fixtures that will see the top-placed team being promoted.
However, the latest result means a tough task for the Stars, who need to beat their two opponents in the next round of the play-offs and hope that Leopards lose against Cosmos.
Stars finished at the bottom of the 16-team PSL log-table but avoided automatic relegation to the First Division after Ajax Cape Town lost the arbitration case on the eligibility of Tendai Ndoro, who had already played for two teams this season before turning up for the Urban Warriors.
On Wednesday, Ng’ambi and Phiri Jnr were not in the first line-up as they were featured as substitutes.
According to a match report on www.goal.com, the Dikwena had a bright start to the game but lacked the killer instinct.
“Phiri, who is Malawi’s set-piece specialist, had an opportunity to score from a free-kick in a promising area [after replacing Lehlogonolo Masalesa], but the left-footed attacker’s effort was blocked by the Cosmos wall,” it explained.
Ng’ambi and Phiri Jnr could not be drawn to comment on the results yesterday. n
