Another draw looms large

Jonty Mark

Rowen Fernandez does not believe today’s Soweto showdown is necessarily make-or-break for Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs in the Absa Premiership title race, and actually thinks the game could well end in another derby draw.

“Honestly, I can see a 2-2 or a 3-3,” said the former Amakhosi goalkeeper and Buccaneers goalkeeping coach yesterday.

“It is tricky because both teams are playing decent football … I hope it will be a high-scoring game.”

Pirates trail Sundowns by four points, with eight games left heading into this weekend’s fixtures, while Chiefs are a point further back.

“If a team does win they do have a better chance of catching Sundowns, but if they don’t they can win the next games … there are a few games left to go,” added Fernandez, whose prediction of a draw is certainly backed up by the statistics.

Five of the last six Absa Premiership encounters between these two sides have ended in stalemates, with three of them goalless.

Fernandez remembers well his own derby debut after moving from Wits to Chiefs in 2001.

“Chiefs get a fair amount of fans anyway, but come derby day it is ridiculous. I came from Wits, where we had 1 000 fans at our matches! It is big pressure of course, but they (Chiefs and Pirates) have experienced guys, they will be fine.”

Chiefs, of course, have Bafana Bafana’s No 1 goalkeeper right now in their captain Itumeleng Khune (above).

“At the moment he is the best,” acknowledges Fernandez, though he also has plenty of faith in the keepers he helped coach at Pirates before leaving in August, in Jackson Mabokgwane, Wayne Sandilands and Siyabonga Mpontshane.

“If he (Jackson) plays, good luck to him, it could be him or Siya or Wayne, they are all good,” added Fernandez.

Also see Page 46