Chiefs have all but sewn up title Hunt
Amakhosi have advantage not playing in Caf games
The Premiership season may be three matches from the halfway mark but Wits coach Gavin Hunt says the league title might as well be handed to Kaizer Chiefs.
The Premiership season may be three matches from the halfway mark but Wits coach Gavin Hunt says the league title might as well be handed to Kaizer Chiefs.
Hunt cannot see Chiefs losing the title after opening a 10-point gap on second-placed Supersport United and champions Mamelodi Sundowns‚ who are third and have a game in hand.
“Chiefs have a helluva lead. It’s for them to lose it now‚” said Hunt. “It’s a big lead. It doesn’t matter [that they’ve played only 12 games]. Other teams will have to win three or four matches in a row to catch them.
“Chiefs will have to lose three or four matches they’ve only lost one. There’s been a lot of talk about how they got there but they’ve done this.”
Chiefs have won 10 matches‚ lost one and drawn one to sit on top of the log with 31 points ahead of hosting Bloemfontein Celtic at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
Wits are four games behind most of the teams as they continue to juggle Caf Confederation Cup commitments with domestic obligations.
Hunt’s charges have played eight games‚ won five‚ lost two and drawn one to remain 15 points behind Chiefs.
That is why Hunt believes Chiefs already have one hand on the trophy and the race will be decided long before the end of the season in May.
AFRICAN SAFARI
Wits continue their African safari this weekend and will be away in Mali to play Djoliba in their second match in the Confederation Cup on Sunday.
They return to league matches on December 11 with an away clash at Golden Arrows.
Hunt is hoping the PSL will accept their request to move the Arrows match to December 12 to soften the strain of the strenuous travelling to Mali and back.
The Wits coach said not playing in Caf competitions gives teams such as Chiefs some advantage in the chase for the league title.
“It’s huge‚” said Hunt‚ who has four league titles under his belt with two different clubs three with SuperSport United and one with Wits.
“It’s OK if you could get a flight there and get out like they do in the Champions League in Europe where you fly for an hour or two.
“But [in Africa] you’ve got three flights to Mali. That’s the problem; to get back and then you play on a Wednesday.
“So you get back on Tuesday at five in the morning and you’ve been travelling since Monday morning. And you’ve got to get another flight on Tuesday morning to go to Durban to play on Wednesday night. That’s the problem.”
● Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has explained why the club declared Itumeleng Khune fit just more than a week ago‚ yet the goalkeeper was not on the bench in Amakhosi’s Telkom Knockout defeat against Maritzburg United.
There appeared to be some confusion over Khune’s fitness status from a long-term shoulder injury when, in the week’s build-up to Chiefs’ 2-1 Telkom Knockout semifinal defeat to Maritzburg two Sundays ago, Middendorp declared the keeper not ready to play.
On the Friday before the game, an entry on Chiefs’ website said Khune was “fully fit”.
Middendorp said there is no need for confusion. There is a difference — which was not highlighted in the report on the Amakhosi website — between full medical fitness and being match-fit to play.
“I can give you an example‚” the coach said. “I went for a knee operation‚ two weeks ago. Last week I had a meeting with the surgeon‚ and he said‚ ‘100%‚ medically‚ you are fit’. ‘But’‚ he said‚‘Now‚ be careful — step by step‚ building it up’.
“Medically‚ I am fit. But I’m not in a condition that I can run around and do stuff. And this is the same that happens with certain players.”
Middendorp indicated that Khune will not be ready for Premiership leaders Chiefs’ next game against Bloemfontein Celtic at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
“I don’t see it coming now‚ with a view to the next game. And that is all that I am interested in‚” the coach said.