Solver Stars 1 Bloemfontein 1
JUST when it seemed Bloemfontein Celtic’s fortunes against Silver Stars had been placed in cold storage on Sunday, Timothy Batabaire struck late to secure his side a priceless away point in the South African Premier soccer league.
The Ugandan international defender, highly regarded by the backroom staff at Celtic, had prior to the weekend fixture put up an elegant performance in his club’s 1-0 win over league leaders Orlando Pirates.
The former SC Villa player joined the South African club late last year. Batabaire will be part of the Cranes team that has regrouped for the 2006 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifier against South Africa set for Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium on March 27. Plans to shift the match to Cape Town failed.
P W D L F A PTS
Pirates 23 14 7 2 45 20 49
Chiefs 20 10 8 2 38 18 38
Sundowns 23 10 7 6 38 25 37
Swallows 23 9 9 5 27 21 36
SuperSport 22 8 11 3 28 23 35
Ajax 21 9 5 7 23 27 32
S.Stars 23 6 9 8 21 22 27
Dynamos 23 6 9 8 29 34 27
Celtic 22 6 9 7 23 28 27
Arrows 23 7 5 11 24 26 26
Rangers 23 6 7 10 21 35 25
Wits 20 5 9 6 16 18 24
Leopards 22 5 9 8 26 32 24
Cosmos 22 4 9 9 16 24 21
Santos 21 6 3 12 21 30 21
Bucks 21 4 6 11 22 35 18
* Cranes manager Asumani Lubowa has invited 10 foreign-based players including APR’s Hassan Mubiru. Others are Sulaiman Tenywa (US), Ibra Sekagya (Argentina), Nestroy Kizito (Serbia), Francis Gonzaga, Phillip Ssozi, Abubaker Tabula (Rwanda), Timothy Batabaire (S. Africa), Isaac Mulyanga (Vietnam) and Assan Bajope (Ethiopia).
Batabaire lifts Celtic
