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Starting with their NFD clash against Jomo Cosmos in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, today, TS Galaxy will play their next four league games away from home.
This means coach Dan “Dance” Malesela’s team will only return to their home ground in Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga at the end of next month.
But this is not a concern for Malesela, who considers any of their fixtures in Gauteng as “home games”.
“We look at all our games in Gauteng as our home games because we train in Honeydew in the northwestern suburbs of Johannesburg,” he said, adding that, to some extent, Witbank was also their home by virtue of Galaxy being a Mpumalanga-based club.
Some serious run-around still awaits Malesela and his side in their bid for promotion, with 10 games remaining to conclude the NFD campaign.
After the Cosmos game at Makhulong Stadium this afternoon, Galaxy will travel to Ajax Cape Town on Saturday, followed by trips to Witbank Spurs and Maccabi FC at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto.
Galaxy will also play their Nedbank Cup quarterfinal game against Cape Umoya United away after the outcome of the draw of the lucrative knockout competition this week.
But Malesela also pointed at the loyal following Galaxy commands, regardless of where they play.
The Rockets, as the trendsetting club is called, draw arguably the biggest crowds in the NFD. This is demonstrated by the multitudes of followers that regularly descend on Kameelrivier Stadium in Siyabuswa township in the former homeland of KwaNdebele.
“Our supporters always give us a homely feel because they turn out in big numbers everywhere we play,” noted Malesela, who joined the club five months ago.
The 53-year-old and his charges will face Cosmos just seven days after they dumped Jomo Sono’s side out of the Nedbank Cup.
“The biggest challenge here is to work on the minds of the players, especially because they were on the winning team in the previous match,” said Malesela.
“For us, every match is a good exercise. And, again, every game is important. That’s why we don’t change our team unless there are suspensions, a loss of form or injuries.”
With 30 points to play for in the remaining games, Malesela still fancies his chances in the jostle for promotion.
Galaxy were placed eighth with 27 points on the NFD log prior to this weekend’s matches.
They are eight points adrift of the play-off spot, which is occupied by second-placed Royal Eagles, with Ajax (third on 34 points) and Mbombela United (fourth on 33 points) also in the same zone.
Galaxy still have to face the three in their remaining games.
Cosmos, who were placed 12th prior to today’s game, have been inconsistent in the new year.
They have won once in five league matches so far, before Galaxy ended their cup run last Sunday.
Sono’s side may as well draw inspiration from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (also known as by the acronym Cosmos), which is an astronomical survey designed to probe the formation and evolution of galaxies.
