Sundowns start domestic campaign but Arrows, Maritzburg sit idle
PRETORIA noblemen Mamelodi Sundowns make a late entry to the domestic football circus of 2016/17 this weekend while Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United are among a large group of unhappy spectators.
Thanks to an unusual fixtures programme, Sundowns’ first match comes not in the league but in the MTN8 knockout competition because PSL officials, surprisingly, saw no problem in staging the league’s opening round in midweek when coach Pitso Mosimane’s well-endowed outfit from the Jacaranda City were on African duty.
Moreover, half of the teams who played in the league on Tuesday and Wednesday are now forced to sit idle until mid-September because MTN8 fixtures and a Bafana Bafana game take precedence over these next three weekends.
The officials, which includes Arrows boss Mato Madlala as acting chief executive of the PSL, seemingly forgot that players and coaches like to be busy every week and that they should have come up with a more practical juxtaposition of MTN8 and league fixtures at this early stage of the season.
The set-up also seems to highlight non-Gauteng clubs’ lack of power to make telling amendments within the PSL, as they are the main ones who have to take this controversially-early recess, with the MTN8 comprising five clubs from Gauteng and one each from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and North West.
But the situation appears to be the worst for newly-promoted Highlands Park of Gauteng because they only play their first match of 2016/17 in mid-September, having had a postponement in midweek due to Sundowns’ trip to Nigeria and with them not being involved in the MTN8, either.
A consolation for Arrows is that coaches Clinton Larsen and Mandla Ncikazi can use the break to repair their defence.
A sloppy performance at the back during the KZN Premier’s Cup exhibition event in Richards Bay a fortnight ago was a bad omen, and the situation was confirmed by Tendai Ndoro in Soweto on Wednesday when he scored the first hattrick of the new season at the earliest opportunity to hand Pirates a 3-1 victory over the Durbanites.
Maritzburg, too, will not be pleased at having to wait until September 14 to follow-up their season-opening victory against Celtic at Dr. Molemela Stadium on Wednesday, where playmaker Kurt Lentjies opportunistically grabbed the game’s only goal after Maritzburg debutant Blessing Moyo’s shot was blocked by goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb.
However, money- eyeing PSL officials will be happy to get the MTN8 ball rolling this weekend, considering the cellphone company has put more faith in them by renewing the sponsorship deal for the eightteam competition.
Sundowns, who used a second-string team in Tuesday’s academic loss to Enyimba in west Africa, will be far more aggressive when they face SuperSport in Sunday’s quarter-final derby at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria.
After signing Sibusiso Vilakazi from Wits and three other rated players, the Brazilians have reportedly just done a deal for 25-year-old Ivorian playmaker Yannick Zakri from ASEC Mimosas.
First up in the MTN8 schedule is newly-formed Cape Town City against Chiefs at Cape Town Stadium tonight.
Coach Eric Tinkler and his men in the Mother City scored a place in the competition as part of their club’s recent purchase of the Aces franchise, and they “warmed up” well for Amakhosi in view of their 2-0 win over Polokwane City at home on Tuesday.
Tomorrow sees two games that feature teams who all did well in midweek.
Platinum Stars will host Chippa United in the afternoon and Wits entertain Pirates in a fierce derby under the Milpark lights, where Chiefs were made to look small on Tuesday.
First Division
MEANWHILE, the promotion race in the First Division opens this weekend and new AmaZulu coach Joey Antipas expects his team to exploit home-ground advantage to the full against Black Leopards at Princess Magogo Stadium on Sunday.
Usuthu have most of their confirmed new signings available for duty, including the latest arrival, striker Sphesihle Nzimande from Polokwane City.
They also seem to have enough “Under-23 power”, not least newly-appointed skipper Tapelo Nyongo, now that the most critical rule in the division has changed to the effect that clubs only need to have two men under 23 years of age on the field, no longer five.
The amendment is likely to help clubs with the most money to acquire experienced players, such as AmaZulu and Royal Eagles in terms of KwaZulu-Natal hopes.
However, Usuthu have been struggling to land young Congolese target Kule Mbombo because of unexpected contractual problems, while defender Alan Robertson is still recovering from hip and hamstring injuries.
There will be an opening-day KZN derby between Eagles and newly-promoted Real Kings at Harry Gwala Stadium tomorrow, while improved Thanda Royals start their campaign against newcomers Magesi FC at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.