Cape Town City winger Aubrey Ngoma has cautioned front-runners BidVest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns that his side, as well as Kaizer Chiefs, are not out of the Absa Premiership title reckoning yet.
Ngoma, who has been one of the stars of the Premiership this season told KweséESPN that while Monday's 1-0 loss to Maritzburg United was a set-back, there is still a confidence among the City players that they can cap a maiden top-flight season with an extraordinary league victory.
City are two points behind leaders Wits and trail Sundowns by one, but have played a game more than those two. The top two are both in action on Thursday evening against Orlando Pirates and Platinum Stars respectively.
Fourth-placed Chiefs trail Wits by five points with just four games remaining, but Ngoma says even they should still be considered among the potential league winners.
"At this point you can't even rule Chiefs out, as much as they might be looked upon as outsiders. As long as you are still mathematically in the equation, you are not out if it," Ngoma said.
"The games are coming think and fast and a bad couple of results can see things change very quickly.
"We definitely believe we can still be crowned champions and we won't give up hope until it is mathematically impossible for us," he said.
City are next in action against relegation-threatened Free State Stars on Friday night, giving them an immediate chance to bounce back from Monday's poor result -- which was a first defeat of 2017 for City in the league, a run of 11 games.
"Monday aside, we have got into a great rhythm this year and if we keep playing how we know we can, we believe we can win our final four matches and then it puts pressure on the other teams," he said.
Should City fail to win the league, a top-two place would still mean a spot in the 2018 African Champions League, while third-place would secure African Confederation Cup football.
That would cap a hugely successful first season for the fledgling club, which included victory in the Telkom Knockout final in December.
"It would be a great challenge for the club, a massive achievement. With the season we have had, if we can qualify for CAF it could help us attract sponsors. People want to be associated with winners and competing at that level shows you have achieved the season before," said Ngoma.