DStv Premiership: City v Spurs headlines the weekend

by Staff Reporter

Friday Sep 29, 2023. 11:00

The weekend’s DStv Premiership action will be headlined by the derby clash between Cape Town City and Cape Town Spurs.

Though this will technically be the first meeting of City and Spurs – given that the latter has changed identity from Ajax Cape Town since the teams’ last official meeting back in January 2018 – it will actually be a resumption of hostilities between two clubs which would love to establish themselves as leaders in the ‘Mother City’.

And this derby at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon offers up three points which both teams will be desperate to claim – City have won just two of their opening seven matches and sit just two points above the relegation playoff berth, while Spurs have lost all six of their league matches since returning to the Premiership at the start of the 2023-24 campaign and therefore sit at the very foot of the table.

“You’ve got to be consistent; you can’t just have a couple of spells of three, four or five minutes, and then suddenly you have a lapse of concentration, and you allow [the opponent] back in the game,” Spurs coach Shaun Bartlett said, as he hopes to see his team avoid setting a new record for the worst start to a PSL season.

“But yeah, it’s very difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel, besides the fact that obviously the number of games that’s left.”

The round opens on Friday night at the Dobsonville Stadium, with Moroka Swallows (three wins from their last four matches) and AmaZulu (unbeaten in three matches, with two wins) both looking to continue their solid form, while Saturday’s late kick-off comes from the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, where Polokwane City host Royal AM for the teams’ first-ever top-flight meeting.

Sunday’s lone match will be played at the Mbombela Stadium and sees TS Galaxy looking to break a three-game winless run when they host Richards Bay.

The visitors have endured a tough start to the campaign, but turning around their fortunes is a challenge coach Kaitano Tembo is happy to accept.

“For me I also have to be in a difficult place and be able to show what I can do as a coach,” said Tembo.

“And not to be in a comfort zone where I can be able to get whatever I want. I need to show my abilities as a coach, and try to improve players.

“Hence I took this challenge because I knew I had to improve myself in terms of coaching ability because this team requires a lot of coaching.

“We can have more time together especially on the training field to try and improve players.”

DStv Premiership weekend fixtures

Times CAT

Friday 29 September

19:30: Moroka Swallows v AmaZulu

Saturday 30 September

15:00: Cape Town City v Cape Town Spurs

17:30: Polokwane City v Royal AM

Sunday 1 October

15:30: TS Galaxy v Richards Bay