Brazilians look to take greater control of title race

by Helder Ribiero

Friday Sep 09, 2022. 11:00

Mamelodi Sundowns will aim to take greater control of the DStv Premiership title race when the league season continues with six fixtures this weekend.

Sundowns, the reigning champions, will be in action on Saturday night at the Tuks Stadium when they host Golden Arrows, looking to continue the momentum built with a hard-fought 1-0 away win over Chippa United in midweek.

“There were areas that we were unhappy about that we had to try and resolve, [like] how we conceded the goals [in past matches] and also the fact that we did not take our chances. And we did not really keep the structure that we wanted to keep,” said co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi.

He added, “In terms of the title defence I don’t think there’s so much that has happened that should suggest that we are off the rails or the title is going to be very, very difficult […]. It is always difficult to fight for the Championship in South Africa, it looks like it’s easy in the end but it’s never easy.”

The round opens on Friday evening with a meeting of form teams at the Harry Gwala Stadium: hosts Maritzburg United are chasing a third win from their last four league outings, while visitors SuperSport United are targeting a hat-trick of victories and will be high on confidence after downing the Brazilians last weekend.

Saturday’s afternoon matches see AmaZulu play host to Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium, while Stellenbosch FC will look to avoid a third straight defeat when they visit Swallows FC at Lucas Moripe Stadium, and the early-evening clash has Orlando Pirates playing host to TS Galaxy in Soweto.

The Buccaneers slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Maritzburg last weekend and coach Jose Riveiro is hopeful his team will start finding the back of the net with more regularity.

“I am happy as long as we try to score and create scoring opportunities, because that’s the only way we can score goals,” said the Spaniard.

He added, “It is about dynamics and we are in a period where it’s taking a lot from us to capitalise on the scoring situations that we create.”

Sunday’s lone game sees Marumo Gallants welcome Kaizer Chiefs to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, with Bahlabane Ba Ntwa chasing a first win of the season and looking to steady the ship after the departure of coach Romain Folz, while the Amakhosi are aiming to get properly up and running after a slow start to the campaign (just two wins from six matches).

“I think we didn’t have that killer-instinct. Yes, we did create enough chances you know but we were not clinical enough,” said Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane after their stalemate with AmaZulu last weekend.

DStv Premiership weekend fixtures

All times CAT

Friday 9 September

19:30: Maritzburg United v SuperSport United

Saturday 10 September

15:00: AmaZulu v Chippa United

15:00: Swallows FC v Stellenbosch FC

17:30: Orlando Pirates v TS Galaxy

20:00: Mamelodi Sundowns v Golden Arrows

Sunday 11 September

15:00: Marumo Gallants v Kaizer Chiefs