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South Africa: Poor Mkhalele Cursing His Luck Second Time Around
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Mninawa Ntloko
Johannesburg
JOMO Cosmos player/assistant coach Helman Mkhalele could hardly believe his bad luck when the club was relegated to the lower tier this week.
Mkhalele was part of the Cosmos side that was relegated in 1993 -- the only other time the team has gone down -- and he could not believe he was around to witness the side's demise a second time on Wednesday.
"Can you believe it?" Mkhalele said yesterday.
"I was part of the team when we were relegated in 1993 and now I am experiencing the pain all over again. I feel really bad, just like the rest of the team."
Mkhalele joined Orlando Pirates at the end of that fateful season in 1993 and did not go down with the team.
After spending four years at Pirates, he left the country to begin an eight-year career in Turkey that took him to clubs such as Kayserispor and Ankaragücü, among others.
He returned to Cosmos in 2005 and he said he could not have imagined then that he would be reliving 1993 all over again this week.
"We are all shattered after what happened. But I guess relegation is a part of life and it had to be us this season. Our immediate goal is to return to the premiership as quickly as possible."
However, getting back to the top flight would not be easy, as competition in the lower tier is extremely fierce.
Mkhalele said Mpumalanga Black Aces' giant-killing march to the final of the Nedbank Cup is further testament to the difficulty they face in the lower tier next season.
Yet the immediate change for Cosmos will be financial, as after receiving R1m a month from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) while in the top flight, they will now have to make do with the R150000 grant that first division sides are given.
Sono said on the club's website that he would accept the blame for plunging the team into the relegation abyss.
"We can't stand here and point fingers at who to blame," he said.
"I can't blame my players, I can't blame my supporters. I can only blame myself. I am the driver of this plane. I can't take the glory when we win five trophies and then blame someone else when we lose or get relegated."
Sono said he would go down with most of his players, with the exception of Valery Nahayo and Thapelo Tshilo who are going overseas.
"We are going to pay them as we have been paying them -- as professionals. I may be saying this for the first time, but look Cosmos is rich, very rich.
"Every time I sold a player, I didn't put that money into my pocket, but into the club. We will regroup and come back.
"No coach is infallible. I may have made some mistakes. Maybe I replaced players like Chris Katongo with the wrong players. I will sit down and look at where we went wrong."
Sono claimed he would field fringe players against Thanda Royal Zulu on Sunday -- Cosmos's last match as a domestic premiership side -- and he would not be bothered if they were beaten 8-0.
However, Thanda would do well to tread very carefully as it appears that Cosmos have prepared an elaborate trap that could suck the newcomers from KwaZulu-Natal into the relegation dogfight.
The second relegation spot has not been decided. The PSL deemed that only the bottom team goes down automatically while the team finishing second from bottom receives a stay of execution -- through playoffs against lower-tier sides.
This means that, should Thanda be beaten by Cosmos and fellow relegation candidates Black Leopards manage an unlikely victory over Kaizer Chiefs, the KwaZulu-Natal greenhorns could be plunged into the uncertainty of playoffs.
SUNDAY
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Santos vs Platinum Stars at Athlone stadium (3pm on SABC), Golden Arrows vs Ajax Cape Town at King Zwelithini stadium (3pm on SS4 and SABC), Bloemfontein Celtic vs SuperSport United at Seisa Ramabodu stadium (3pm on SS3), Moroka Swallows vs Bidvest Wits at Olympia Park
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