Kickoff (Cape Town)
2 October 2008
Bidvest Wits coach Rodger de Sa got a perfect birthday present on Wednesday night when he led his team to a 1-0 win over Platinum Stars which propelled the Students to a familiar early season top spot on the log standings.
De Sa was celebrating his 44th birthday when his Wits side shot up to top spot with 10 points from four games.
"Nice way to celebrate hey getting the points in the bag always matters the most. It was sweet to get the job done on my birthday," says De Sa before jokingly stating that his age should remain a secret.
It is always positive that we get the points in, so that we get away from the prospect of fighting relegation
Rodger de Sa
"It was a good performance from the boys. The players' personality in the squad that we have this season is really making it work. They are hungry and in the right group to make the squad that we want. The changes that we made to the playing personnel have made a difference because we have improved.
"There is excitement about the players that we have now; they are better than what we had last season. The players we brought in were to strengthen the team and so far it has worked well. Along that, we have started off well because we have had a bit of luck going for us.
"But there is no need to get carried away because the league is still very much in its infancy. And though we have won our games, all the teams we have played so far are all at the bottom which means they have been strugglers," says De Sa.
De Sa is aware that Wits have had a tendency to start off well in recent seasons.
"It is always positive that we get the points in, so that we get away from the prospect of fighting relegation. When you start well, it augurs well for the long run because the points that you already have will cover up in difficult phases ahead. But we just have to make sure that we try and maintain the rhythm that we have started off with," he says.
Marawaan Bantam - a Muslim who was just getting to the end of the month-long Ramadan - scored the all-important goal from the penalty spot with just 12 minutes remaining.
This was after Lefa Mogaila had fouled Zambian wizard Clifford Mulenga in the box.
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