Cape Town City Season Review: Calamitous season ends in relegation for the Citizens

The Citizens began the season under coach Eric Tinkler, signing a number of players including experienced midfielders Fortune Makaringe, Haashim Domingo and Kamohelo Mokotjo.

City won their opening clash in the MTN8 quarter-final against Sekhukhune United before losing their semi-final clash 3-1 on aggregate against Orlando Pirates.

Cape Town City's league campaign began with a 3-0 loss against Western Cape rivals Stellebosch, a team they had not defeated since December 2020.

A hard fought 1-0 win followed against SuperSport United was followed up with progression to the Carling Knockout Cup quarterfinals, where City lost 5-4 on penalties against Richards Bay.

City then failed to win consecutive matches in the league, a run which saw the club part ways with Eric Tinkler on New Year's Eve following three losses in five matches.

The club appointed former Kaizer Chiefs coach Mushin Ertugral as his replacement, with the Turk winning three of his first four matches in charge, including big wins against Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

Former Bafana Bafana and Ajax Amsterdam star Thulani Serero, 35, also joined the club during the January transfer window, leading to high expectations from the South African football circles.

However, the team could not maintain the momentum, losing six of their next seven matches and slipping into the relegation/playoffs zone, prompting Chairman John Comitis to wield the axe again, sacking Mushin Ertugral.

The Western Cape outfit decided to promote assistant coach Diogo Peral to the head coach position for the rest of the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season.

His six-game stint in the top-flight yielded only one victory for City, as the club sank to a disappointing 15th place finish, condemning them to the PSL relegation playoffs.

City then failed to win any of their first three playoff matches with a 1-0 loss against Orbit College condemning the club to their first relegation from the PSL top-flight since the 2016/17 season.

The team can only blame themselves for a disappointing campaign despite encouraging performances that were not followed up with victories, with the team scoring only 15 goals in the 2024 Betway Premiership.

The club chairman confirmed in a radio interview with Robert Marawa that they are considering buying a PSL top-flight status in order to remain in the Betway Premiership, with SuperSport United and newly promoted Orbit College touted as possible targets.

Here are a few key stats from the Citizens' season:

Key player                  - Prins Tijueza (5 goal contributions - 2 goals, 3 assists)
Top goalscorer          - Darwin Gonzalez (5 goals)
Most minutes            - Darren Keet (3315 minutes played)
Clean sheets              - 15 (all Darren Keet)