On the 15th of May last year, Noko Matlou’s SD Eibar women suffered a heartbreak as they played their last match in the Spanish Premier Division following relegation into the Segundo Division Pro.
They finished 14th in the 16-team league and suffered an automatic drop – at the time, after 30 matches they had only collected seven wins, lost 21 games and drew two matches, finishing on 23 points.
But it seems the 2022/23 season has been good to Matlou and company.
After 29 rounds of fixtures they have won 13 and drew just as many games, losing only three.
With only one match to go to the end of the season, it’s a three-way tie in second place between SD Eibar Women, Deportivo La Coruna and Osasuna – all are on 52 points.
“It is quite simple for all three teams – it is do or die this Sunday. But it’s all in our hands,” said Matlou ahead of the weekend’s clashes.
Barcelona B has won the league, leaving the battle for second place to play out behind them. Due the Catalans having a team in the Premier Women’s Division, the Segundo Division cannot be promoted despite their success, making way for the second-placed finisher to gain automatic promotion to the elite women’s league, while positions three, four, five and six will battle it out for the remaining promotion spot.
In the automatic promotion race, Matlou’s side has a difficult run in.
They take on fifth-placed Granada, with Deportivo facing 13th placed Rayo Vallecano while Osasuna tackles Leandra Smeda’s Dux Logrono, who are eighth.
“It’s very tense for all because we know what is at stake, and we don’t want to go to playoffs. We haven’t come this far to leave it all behind. For us it is simple – as the team in second place, we hold the advantage and must just win our match and not worry about what happens in the other games. We will be fighting for our lives in this match – we will give everything we have and leave all on the pitch,” added Matlou.
All matches will kick off simultaneously at 12h00 on Sunday (13 May 2023).
The Limpopo-born defender has recently come back from injury and missed three club games and a Banyana Banyana’s last international friendly against Serbia.
By Matlhomola Morake
