Cape Town — Four of the DStv Premiership sides that are in the slipstream of pace-setters Mamelodi Sundowns all recorded wins over the weekend and this will raise hopes of clinching a coveted CAF Champions League slot next season.
SuperSport United (39 points), Orlando Pirates (34), Kaizer Chiefs (also 34) and Cape Town City (32) are all battling it out for second spot as Mamelodi Sundowns will win the league by a country mile and that leaves one Champions League slot up for grabs.
Whichever teams fail to make it, will be looking to secure a slot in the CAF Confederation Cup competition.
1 Pirates on par with Sundowns
It was wonderful praise from German Ernst Middendorp who said that Pirates are on the same level as Sundowns after his side Swallows suffered a 4-1 defeat at Dobsonville.
The ever-improving Monnapule Saleng scored a hat-trick and is now in contention for the Golden Boot award with of eight goals.
Zimbabwean Terrence Dzvukamanja who is enjoying a new lease of life under coach Jose Riveiro was the other scorer.
"For me the squad is on the same level as the squad from Sundowns, there is no doubt about it," Middendorp said. "Congratulations to Pirates, that is all I can say about this match."
2 Chiefs score rare back-to-back wins
Chiefs followed up their 1-0 Soweto Derby win with another 1-0 win over 10-man Richards Bay on Saturday. The only difference was that this time they scored a goal rather than relying on an own goal.
The win would have pleased the AmaKhosi faithful no end, although the hard-to-please fans will wonder about the side’s inability to capitalise on their man advantage.
Richards Bay had a player red-carded in the 18th minute and in the remaining 72 minutes of regulation time, Chiefs were unable to exploit their numerical superiority.
Coach Arthur Zwane will be worried about his side’s lack of firepower ahead of Sunday’s Nedbank Cup clash against the Motsepe Foundation Championship high-flyers Casric Stars at the FNB Stadium at 6pm.
3 SuperSport blunt Arrows
Gavin Hunt's SuperSport United maintained their grip on second place with a 2-1 triumph over Golden Arrows at the Lucas ‘Masterpieces’ Moripe Stadium.
Striker Zakhele Lepasa, who joined SuperSport from Pirates, scored a goal in each half while Arrows managed a late second-half penalty to keep their hopes alive, but to no avail.
Every win by SuperSport delays Sundowns’ coronation for a little longer but, more importantly, it helps to stave off the challenge for the Champions League place from Cape Town City, Pirates and Chiefs.
Lepasa has been taking lots of flak on social media for his average performances but after this effort, his detractors should be quiet for a while.
4 Stellenbosch rookies run Sundowns ragged
No-one would have expected the youthful Stellenbosch side to end Sundowns’ record 15-match league-winning run.
Yet that is what happened in pouring rain when Stellenbosch fought from being a goal down to draw 1-1.
Sundowns fielded several second-stringers and that prompted coach Rulani Mokwena to say that at one stage he didn't recognise his team. One of the new faces in the line-up was the 18-year-old development product Ntandoyenkosi Nkosi in the midfield.
All in all, Stellenbosch had done enough to win the match but they lacked the experience to secure the victory.
5 No respite for Chippa United in the post-Morgan Mammila era
There was no respite for Chippa United who sent Morgan Mammila packing and then reinstated Kurt Lentjies as their interim coach.
As before, Lentjies’ job will be to do damage control, although over the weekend he could not stop the rot and they suffered a 2-0 defeat by AmaZulu at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Lentjies will be hoping for better luck when Chippa square off against ABC Motsepe League outfit Dondol Stars in a Nedbank Cup last-16 match on Wednesday.
IOL Sport