Oriented Birds starts season on a high

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - After making their return to the Safa Eden Regional League, Oriented Birds FC opened their 2025/26 campaign in impressive fashion last Saturday.

The Plettenberg Bay outfit cruised to a 3-1 victory over Black Cats (George) in an entertaining fixture at Kwanokuthula Stadium.

Carrying that momentum forward, the Birds edged Nelson Mandela University FC 1-0 in their second outing, securing back-to-back wins and announcing their intentions early in the season.

The former regional league champions spent the past two seasons competing in the Western Cape ABC Motsepe Provincial League after being promoted to the semi-professional division during the 2022/23 campaign alongside Junction Rovers AFC (Cape Town).

However, a lack of sponsorship and limited access to training facilities forced the club's management into a tough decision as they sold their ABC Motsepe League status to Cape Town's Sea Point Swift FC, also known as Hope FC.

Oriented Birds' experienced goalkeeper, Zakhe Gxotho, told Knysna-Plett Herald that he found the opening matches "very interesting", especially with Safa Eden adding two more teams - Strikers FC and Flying Eagles FC - to the league.

Gxotho praised the squad's work ethic and unity, noting that the team "performed well as a unit and showed real desire for the game". He said the Birds are training hard and are working to ensure "everything is in order" for the long season ahead.

Knysna teams off to a flying start
Knysna football fans were treated to an exciting weekend as local teams delivered standout performances. After a difficult 2024/25 season, FC United bounced back brilliantly, scoring seven goals across their opening fixtures.

United opened with a convincing 3-0 victory over Simunye before maintaining their momentum later in the afternoon with a 4-0 win against newly promoted Paris United from George.

Voota FC, formerly known as Knysna Celtics FC, also made a statement, collecting maximum points from their two opening matches.