Down to the dire for three
STRAP on your seatbelts and brace yourselves for a turbulent ride that will either end in tears or exuberant joy after the dust has settled this afternoon.
This is the Absa premiership’s final curtain call and while league champions Kaizer Chiefs only have to show up at Mandela Bay Stadium to be finally handed silverware they won with two games to spare last month, there are several loose strings that still need to be tied today.
The relegation guillotine has swung threateningly over several clubs for weeks now and as we approach the final day of the season, one of the three sides under its menacing shadow – Moroka Swallows, AmaZulu and Chippa United – will succumb to its thirst for blood.
Several permutations that are enough to give anyone a headache abound and the only certainties are:
(1) One of Swallows, AmaZulu and Chippa can be automatically relegated today;
(2) One of the stranded three will go into the promotion-relegation playoffs with sides from the first division;
(3) Either of the three can also automatically survive relegation – it is that kind of a day.
Basement side Birds are but a shadow of their erstwhile glory days and face the ignominy of sinking into the quicksand for the first time in their chequered 68-year history.
Administrative Russian roulette often has serious consequences for any business and if Swallows officials are brave enough to take a hard look at the mirror, the architects of their demise this season will be staring back at them.
Coach Zeca Marques’ exit in October, replacement Fani Madida’s troubled 15-match spell and Craig Rosslee’s late introduction to the Birds’ hot seat in March all contributed to the current malaise.
Chairman Leon Prins’ constant run-ins with the club’s minority shareholders and the frequent protests by an irate section of what remains of Swallows’ dwindling support base also proved to be an unwanted distraction.
Tragically, a Swallows exit today would end their rivalry with illustrious Soweto neighbours Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. The permutations are very simple for Swallows today – they have to beat frustratingly unpredictable Bloemfontein Celtic at Dobsonville Stadium and then hope the other two strugglers, preferably AmaZulu, stumble.
The mathematics for second from the bottom AmaZulu are also fairly simple – match any result Swallows produce today and they will be able to escape automatic relegation.
A comfortable victory over KwaZulu-Natal neighbours Maritzburg United at Moses Mabhida Stadium will see them leapfrog third from the bottom Chippa and escape relegation uncertainty altogether.
Chippa, though, remain in the pound seats as far as these relegation permutations are concerned as a draw or a win against champions Chiefs at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will make them immune to whatever happens below them.