Desperate for some derby delight E
On Saturday, FNB Stadium plays host to yet another Soweto Derby. The biggest match in the local football calendar is once again a meeting of two also-rans in the title race. Both teams can still finish in second place and bragging rights are up for grabs as always, but this feels like one of the more inconsequential derbies in recent times. On one side you have a Kaizer Chiefs side fast approaching a decade without a trophy and having scored just four goals in their last seven matches On the other corner is a Orlando Pirates team with three trophies unde their belts in the last 18 months. Yet, doubts remain over Jose Riveiro credentials as a coach who can mount a title challenge, never mind actually lift the DStv Premiership title after the club’s 12-year wait. There are plenty of sub-plots to discuss, but supporters need to have a quiet pra that we see some actual goals and entertainment in N come 15h30 on Saturday. Soccer Laduma previews the clash.
For any derby, a rock-solid defence gives you the best chance of victory. Considering we hardly ever see goalfests in this fixture, even leaking one goal can be enough to condemn you to defeat. Kaizer Chiefs have a serious question mark in the heart of their backline for this match. At the start of the season, Given Msimango and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe formed a new pairing in central defence. The latter’s serious shoulder injury keeps him out of this game. In addition, Edmilson Dove pulling back Gabadinho Mhango against Moroka Swallows last weekend saw the Mozambican sent off.
Considering that the PSL inflict a two-match ban for any and all red cards – despite other leagues like the English Premier League only dishing out a one-match suspension for denying a goalscoring opportunity – Dove will miss the derby having also sat out against Golden Arrows on Tuesday.
Cavin Johnson is not short of options to fill the void. The question is whether his pool of central defenders represent quality depth or if there is simply quantity in that department. Reeve Frosler started against Royal AM after the Afcon hiatus, but he didn’t make the squad in either of the Milford FC or Dube Birds fixtures. His availability could see Zitha Kwinika move into a central role in preference to Njabulo Ngcobo coming into the XI. Dillan Solomons had a rare outing against his former club last Saturday after Dove’s red card. Another option is Luke Fleurs, but he is yet to play a single minute in over four months at the Naturena-based club. Whoever gets the nod won’t bring the left foot and ball-playing ability that Dove offers and that may mean there is greater joy for Orlando Pirates when they press high from Kaizer Chiefs’ build-up schemes.
Stop Du Preez, stop Chiefs?
When you think of Ashley Du Preez, you don’t picture ruthless finishing or goal-poaching. What you get with him is a whirlwind of pace, energy, chasing lost causes and counterattacks. With him on the field, so much of Amakhosi’s game plan is geared towards bringing out the speed merchant’s talents. Bucs will be starkly aware of his threat having seen the sprinter have several oneon-one chances against Siyabonga Mpontshane in a recent derby (all of which were missed).
If Pirates dominate possession and use their hyper fluid formation with positional interchanging, it could mean they are not in an ideal shape in ‘rest defence’ – basically how your players prepare for the ball being lost whilst their team is still in the possession phase. Du Preez is an absolute menace to opponents and will surely be moved to a central striker role again for this match having started as a right winger against Swallows. If Olisa Ndah and Tapelo Xoki can stuff out Du Preez’s runs behind the defensive line, then you worry where Chiefs’ goals will come from. They fired blanks against Royal AM, Milford FC and Swallows and only netted once in each of the four matches before that. Yes, Edson Castillo can score a header, Pule Mmodi or Christian Saile can cut inside to shoot or Sifiso Hlanti can pop up with a headed effort, but it really does feel like most of the job will be done if Ndah and Xoki leave Nasrec with Du Preez in their pockets.
The suspension tightrope
Going into Tuesday’s match against Arrows, the Glamour Boys had three players who were at risk of a fourth yellow card and a ban for this showpiece. Castillo, Yusuf Maart and Mmodi were all sitting on three yellow cards.
While Castillo sat on the bench and did not play a part in the match, Maart and Mmodi featured from the start, and both did not get cautioned, meaning they are available for the big encounter on Saturday. This will be good news for Johnson.
For Pirates, their match on Wednesday against bottom-placed Cape Town Spurs kicks off after this edition of Soccer Laduma goes to print. The Sea Robbers had three players having to tread carefully in right back options Bandile Shandu and Thabiso Lebitso and veteran Bafana Bafana midfielder Thabang Monare. None of those three would be massive losses and Bucs will have a fully fresh and able Ndah, whose caution against Polokwane
City sees him serve a ban against the Urban Warriors in midweek instead. The Nigerian will have a big point to prove after some nightmare moments in recent derby clashes.
Watching brief for Bafana bunch?
For the biggest game of the season, you’d usually expect the key men on the two sides to be regulars for Bafana Bafana. Instead, Monare – the third-choice central midfielder in Cote d’Ivoire at the Africa Cup of
Nations – is unlikely to play many minutes. His brief seven-minute sighting against Polokwane City last Saturday was his first outing of any sort in the DStv Premiership since playing 90 minutes in the last Soweto Derby back on the 11th of November.
For Nkosinathi Sibisi, who was chosen ahead of Xoki for the 23man Afcon squad, it could be more time getting splinters on the bench. Since starting against Mamelodi Sundowns back in September last year, Pirates have played 13 league matches with the former Arrows man only selected to start two of those encounters. He may be a favourite of Hugo Broos, but Jose Riveiro has lost a bit of faith in the pacey but relatively short central defender who didn’t even get a game against Crystal Lake FC in the Nedbank Cup! We may get a rare sighting of him against Spurs with Ndah suspended on Wednesday, but he is likely to go straight back to being a spectator at FNB Stadium. Then we have Zakhele Lepasa. The 26-year-old came on as a substitute
in every game for Bafana, but having raced to 10 goals this season, he hasn’t scored in six months now for the side. He hasn’t started any of the last 13 league games, with a paltry 127 minutes played in that time.
On Chiefs’ side, no Glamour Boys made the final Afcon squad, but Sibongiseni Mthethwa made the standby list. He has been benched in three recent DStv Premiership matches against Richards Bay FC, Royal AM and Moroka Swallows and considering the large transfer fee spent to acquire him, it would be damning if he wasn’t selected for the derby… the exact sort of match you’d think Chiefs had in mind when they recruited the defensive midfielder!
The one exception is Evidence Makgopa, who started for Pirates against the Brazilians just four days after landing back in the country. He had started seven games in under four weeks in Ivory Coast with 590 minutes played. The lack of rest and immediate return should give you an indication of how much of a vital player he is in Riveiro’s plans!