Arrows target top-eight finish

GOLDEN Arrows coach Clinton Larsen was naturally pleased with his charges’ 3-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban, but the job is not yet done.

Abafana Besthende moved to ninth spot on the log with 34 points, which gives them some breathing space. They were flirting with relegation as they could be sucked into 15th spot and head into the playoffs.

Sounding relieved, Larsen commended his boys for the win and is now more hopeful of a top-eight finish.

“We’ve always been one win away from a top eight [finish], one win away and finally, we get that result that I won’t say put us in the top eight, but allows us to challenge for a top eight place.”

Arrows finished eighth last season and anything below that would be considered an underachievement.

They started the season well with three wins in a row, but later went 11 games without victory.

They will host bottom side Platinum Stars at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday (3pm) and Larsen has always regarded this as their toughest fixture despite playing the likes of Orlando Pirates, Free State Stars, Mamelodi Sundowns and Chiefs in recent times.

“A lot of people also said how are we going to get points looking at the last few games; it’s Sundowns, it’s Chiefs, Platinum Stars. I said the most difficult game would be Platinum Stars because it’s a team that still believes they can catch the team [in 15th spot]. So they are still fighting for their lives.

“It’s six points still to play for and there’s still a chance for us to achieve our objective of being in the top eight,” he said. – TimesLIVE