A season to remember for
Good marks for Maritzburg, FS Stars but Baroka, Ajax among those who faded
Another Absa Premiership season has gone by, serving football fans more than a bucketful of thrills and spills. and give their assessment of each team during the race for glory
Tiyani wa ka Mabasa Gomolemo Motshwane
In their first season back in the top flight after buying the status of Thanda Royal Zulu, Usuthu’s campaign was satisfactory. Were it not for other teams gaining points through the Ndoro ruling, they would have finished in the top eight. Coach Cavin Johnson has injected an attacking philosophy while the experience of veterans Siyabonga Nomvethe and Mabhuti Khenyeza rubbed off onto the rest of the team. Baroka started well and were even top of the log for sometime, but the wheels came off towards the end of the season. They almost got relegated. Some issues behind the scenes didn’t help their cause either, such as those related to coach Kgoloko Thobejane and some players, who ended up being fired. The defending champions didn’t live up to expectations. Big signings such as Steven Pienaar were a letdown. But they still brought home some silverware in the form of the Telkom Knockout. While we were accustomed to seeing Benni McCarthy in the 18 (yard) area, we got to see him in the technical area.
City took a gamble by appointing the rookie coach after Eric Tinkler departed. The Capetonians were a tenacious bunch and got narrow wins in key ties They did not once drift out of the top eight and in the end managed a respectable finish. Had it not been for the many draws in the league [16], they could have made the top eight. There were also a couple of coaching changes at the club which affected the team, such as the departure of Dan Malesela, then came in Tebogo Moloi. More was expected from the Chilli Boys after they signed some quality players such as Thabo Rakhale and Linda Mntambo.