Sundowns are on the up
Teams head for festive break as the season hits the halfway mark with Downs and SuperSport are being tipped as league champions.
The last round of Premier Soccer League games at the weekend effectively brings the season to the halfway point, with the completion of 15 rounds of matches. It has been a bizarre campaign to date, riddled with dour performances, tepid skills, a dearth of goals and a traffic jam in the standings. Certainly no bull has been grabbed by the horns.
But as the clubs head off to Christmas, there is a growing sense that Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United are the teams most likely to take the title come the end of the season in May.
Not only do they have significant games in hand – after early season matches were postponed because of their participation in the latter stages of the African club competitions – but also look to have the necessary depth in their respective squads for the taxing run that is characteristic of the second half of the season after the brief break for the festive holidays.
Sundowns are already threatening to build up a considerable lead while fatigue-ridden SuperSport have been dropping points with a series of draws but still have enough games in hand to be ahead of the standings come the end of January.
Sundowns, with 22 points from 11 games, are well positioned ahead of second-placed Orlando Pirates on a paltry 20 from 14 games.
It has been a season that has so far had just a single consistent factor – the inconsistency of the teams!
There have been some hefty Soccer 6 and Soccer 10 payouts already in this campaign as the formbook has gone out of the window with many of the established clubs unable to establish some hegemony.
Champions Wits lie last in the standings with 11 points from 13 games with a revival being predicted every week by the pundits but still not materialising.
Sundowns, also playing midweek catch-up games, host Bloemfontein Celtic at the weekend, wary of the fact Celtic have handed them some heavy defeats in past years but also confident they can keep their run going.
At the same time, SuperSport have a tough trip to meet Baroka, whose early season bubble now seems to have been punctured, but who are always a challenge in Polokwane.
Pirates go to Free State Stars, which is always a tough assignment, and would likely welcome a draw, while Kaizer Chiefs end their year hosting Ajax Cape Town at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Last weekend’s win over Platinum Stars has lifted a lot of pressure off beleaguered coach Steve Komphela but he knows that for the AmaKhosi, every game is a must win. They should kill off a limited Ajax side.