Another crunch game for Chiefs and Hunt

by Graeme Jackson

Tuesday Dec 15, 2020. 09:00

South Africa’s DStv Premiership will hold its penultimate round of matches for the calendar year over this midweek of Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 December, and once again much of the focus falls on Kaizer Chiefs and beleaguered coach Gavin Hunt.

The Amakhosi, who finished as runners-up last season, have had a nightmare start to the 2020-21 season after winning just one of their opening six matches, putting huge pressure on new coach Gavin Hunt.

Things won’t get any easier for the Soweto giants when they travel to Tshwane to face one of Hunt’s former teams, SuperSport United, as one of four matches on Tuesday evening. The under-fire manager has called on his players to eliminate individual errors as a first step toward claiming better results.

“All we can do is work on situations but, mistakes like that, you can’t practice those things. So, we need to eradicate those errors,” said Hunt.

“We did the same against Pirates – made two or three errors, and obviously didn’t score the goals to come back – but that’s the part where we’ve got to keep working on, that’s all we can do.

“Any mistake on any football pitch is disappointing, and everybody makes mistakes and that’s disappointing, but that’s football, it’s a game of mistakes. It happens and we’ve got to stick together.”

Tuesday also sees Mamelodi Sundowns host TS Galaxy in their first match since the awful news that defender Motjeka Madisha passed away on Sunday in a car accident (this match could well be postponed in the wake of that tragedy); Swallows FC will look to continue their remarkable return to the top flight with a win at home to struggling Maritzburg United; and Stellenbosch will host Cape Town City at Danie Craven Stadium for a potential derby thriller.

Wednesday afternoon sees the derby theme continue when Limpopo clubs Black Leopards and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila meet at Thohoyandou Stadium, as well as an all-Durban battle between AmaZulu and Golden Arrows at Kings Park Stadium.

The Wednesday evening games see Bloemfontein Celtic looking to bounce back from cup final disappointment when they host Baroka FC, while newly-crowned MTN8 champions Orlando Pirates will aim to end their domestic year on a high with a win at home to Chippa United. The Buccaneers were scheduled to play Tshakhuma this coming weekend, but the match has been postponed to aid their travel to Angola for next midweek’s CAF Confederation Cup clash against Sagrada Esperanca.

DStv Premiership fixtures, 15-16 December

Tuesday 15 December

19:30: Swallows FC v Maritzburg United

19:30: SuperSport United v Kaizer Chiefs

19:30: Mamelodi Sundowns v TS Galaxy

19:30: Stellenbosch FC v Cape Town City

Wednesday 16 December

15:30: Black Leopards v Tshakhuma TM

17:30: AmaZulu v Golden Arrows

19:30: Bloemfontein Celtic v Baroka FC

19:30: Orlando Pirates v Chippa United