Highbury must win against Casric Stars to keep title hopes alive

Highbury have received special dispensation to play their Motsepe Foundation Championship fixture against Casric Stars at the Gelvandale Stadium on Friday (3.30pm) as scheduled, despite the venue's safety and security certificate having expired. Highbury chair Cameron Klopper said the decision to continue with the fixture at the stadium came after talks between the club and the PSL on Thursday. He said the PSL had granted special permission for the club to use the stadium on Friday. "We've got a final resolution taken by the PSL, for this one-off situation, we are allowed to have a minimum of spectators, which will be controlled by the security," Klopper said. "The bottom line is that we need to sort out the safety certificate." The certificate expired on Thursday, rendering the stadium noncompliant. The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality's failure to renew the safety certificate on time left the Gqeberha side without a home venue until the PSL decision came through. Meanwhile, midfielder Tlhalefang Batsi believes victory over Motsepe Foundation Championship leaders Casric Stars would re-energise Highbury's title ambitions. Batsi joined the Gqeberha side during the 2023/2024 season while the club was still contesting in the ABC Motsepe League. He is among the players who played a vital role in the club's promotion. Now, Batsi wants to help Highbury move up to the Betway Premiership next season. "This season we started well," the former Black Eagles player said. "Last weekend's defeat was our first loss of the season in seven matches. "So, I think compared to previous seasons, we started pretty well this season. "I think this season we are ready, we can compete for the title. "All we need to do now is to prepare well and win our game because our main objective this season is to promote the team. "The players are willing to work every day. It's very competitive even at training. As players, we give our all and we push hard." The Yellow Nation lost 2-1 to Leicesterford City away at the Dobsonville Stadium in their previous league fixture. It was the team's first defeat this season. The setback saw coach Kabelo Sibiya's troops drop from third to fourth on the MFC log with 12 points from seven games. "Our last game, we started the match well and we played well, but after our opening goal, we gave them room or space to come back into the game. "We retreated to the back. We did not press as hard as we did in the first half. "Friday's game is a must-win, because we come from a loss and we want to keep our top-five position," Batsi said.