Telkom semi-final shootout

PSL big guns Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns are widely expected to win their respective Telkom Knockout semi-finals but our resident soccer expert won’t be betting his house on them.

If reputation and past success are anything to go by, then next month’s Telkom Knockout final will be contested by table-topping Kaizer Chiefs and defending PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

But form suggests that Chiefs and Sundowns are far from certain to emerge victorious when the semi-finals are played this weekend.

The first tie is tomorrow when Sundowns are away against Lamontville Golden Arrows for a second successive game.

They lost 3-2 in the league in Durban before the international break in a display that suggested cracks are beginning to appear in their ranks.

But then anyone who writes off Sundowns does so at their own peril. They have unparalleled depth in their squad and a bevy of attackers waiting to make an impact.

Having been stung by Arrows, they can be expected to bite back with venom. But Arrows are, perhaps, the most unpredictable team in the Premier Soccer League and capable of beating any team on their day.

They also offer their coach Steve Komphela an opportunity to get into cup final again and finally break his trophy duck. No coach has been in PSL services as long and never won a piece of silverware.

On Sunday, Chiefs will be overwhelming favourites against Maritzburg United. Their runaway lead in the league suggests they are going to finally become champions again, although there is always a nagging feeling with the current Chiefs generation that they will implode.

They might be winning, but have been doing so without much conviction and, at times, with much good fortune.

Maritzburg have finally got over last season’s horrors when they were almost relegated and are now mid-table one third through the current campaign.

Reaching a cup semi-final has come as a bonus and Eric Tinkler’s side will be the least pressured of the teams this weekend.

That might yet prove a bonus when they go up against Chiefs at the Mbombela stadium.

These are the only two games locally this weekend, but the PSL will resume again next Tuesday after a lengthy break for many sides. For some of them it has been a chance to regroup and refocus after getting their campaigns off to a poor start.

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