. . . Three quarters of PSL clubs not yet safe
OWING to the huge turnover in the number of clubs that are relegated annually from the domestic top-flight league to the country’s four second tier leagues, three quarters of the teams in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League are mathematically not safe from the dreaded chop, with most of them having to hold on to their calculators until the last day of the season.
With five matches remaining before the curtain comes down on the 2023 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season, soccer fans are in for an intriguing finish.
In South Africa, only two teams can possibly be relegated from the DStv Premiership. In some cases, only one team drops to the Motsepe Foundation Championship. As noted by the South African Premier Soccer League, the team that finished at the bottom of the DStv Premiership log gets automatically relegated. That team was Marumo Gallants last season. In the English Premier League, three teams are relegated every season. In the Championship, three teams are relegated and three are promoted every season, with the top two winning automatic places and the winner of the third-sixth place play-offs, grabbing the third promotion spot.
In Zimbabwe, four teams – which constitutes a staggering 23 percent of the PSL affiliate clubs – are relegated to different second tier leagues at the end of every season.
Even though there are teams that are lying deep in the drop zone, the fact is that three quarters of the clubs in this league are not safe from relegation.
GreenFuel coach, Rodwell Dhlakama, a shrewd football tactician in his own right who presided over the resurgence of Boys DzeNharo this season, concedes that 75 percent of the 2023 PSL clubs are not safe from being relegated to Division One.
Dhlakama said: “About three quarters of the PSL teams will fight relegation until the last day of the season. It will not be easy for anyone and the teams that are hungrier to stay afloat will survive the dreaded chop.
“What makes the whole relegation matrix intriguing is that most of them will cancel each other like ZPC Kariba playing Yadah in their next fixture, while Bulawayo Chiefs will be playing against GreenFuel. That leaves the teams at the bottom of the log standings remaining rooted there, while those at the apex keep their places.
“Interestingly, there are no mid-table teams that you can count on to donate points to you. All the top five teams want to win the league championship because mathematically they are in it. These are Ngezi Platinum, FC Platinum, Highlanders, Dynamos and Manica Diamonds. From Herentals going to the bottom teams, all these teams can still be relegated.
“However, Herentals might need three points to be safe, while other teams below them need to win five matches, some four, some three and some two depending on the points accumulated this far.”
The former Monomotapa and Ngezi Platinum gaffer, said GreenFuel is not safe from relegation yet, but there are still, not only mathematical, but realistic chances for the Ethanol Boys’ survival.
“We just need to focus and set realistic and achievable targets. We need 43 points to survive and we just need to pick some points on the road and ensure that we do not lose at home,” said Dhlakama. Remaining matches for bottom six: Sheasham: v Diamonds (H); Ngezi Platinum (A); ZPC Kariba (H); Black Rhinos (A) and FC Platinum (H)
Yadah: v ZPC Kariba (H); Rhinos (A); FC Platinum (H); Chicken Inn (A) and Dynamos (H)
ZPC Kariba: v Yadah (A); Hwange (H); Sheasham (A); Simba (H) and Cranborne (A)
Triangle: v Cranborne (A); Highlanders
(H); Bulawayo Chiefs (A); Caps United (H) and Green Fuel (A)
Black Rhinos: v Dynamos (A); Yadah (H); Hwange (A); Sheasham (H) and Simba (A)
Cranborne Bullets; v Triangle (H); Herentals
(A); Manica (H); Ngezi Platinum (A) and ZPC Kariba (H)
GreenFuel: v Chiefs (H); Chicken Inn (A); Caps United (H) Dynamos (A) and Triangle (H).