Sundowns set the pace while the rest followed

• Pirates’ impressive second-round form earned them a Champions League spot, Chiefs suffered a dozen defeats

Mamelodi Sundowns once again dominated the Premier Soccer League (PSL) with a recordextending sixth successive league title that was won in record time with seven games to spare and the same number of weeks of the season remaining.

At the same time, they also equalled last season’s record winning margin of 16 points.

With the Brazilians having all but wrapped up the title early in the second round, the thirst for jeopardy saw the focus turning to what was initially a threehorse race for second place and the accompanying place in next season’s Champions League.

Super Sport United, re-energised under Gavin Hunt, who guided the club to three successive titles in 2008-10, led the pack for a good part of the second round, at one stage holding a commanding nine-point lead over nearest rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

At a time when both Matsatsantsa and Amakhosi saw their challenges flagging, the Buccaneers embarked on an unbeaten run that rose to 13 and counting when they ended the season by lifting the Nedbank Cup on Saturday. Pirates’ impressive second-round form earned their return to the Champions League for the first time since 2018.

That run, together with winning the MTN8, has raised hopes of Jose Riveiro’s team mounting a serious challenge to finally end Sundowns’ long-term rental of the Premiership title. Expectations of better things for Pirates should be tempered, but when factoring in their additional commitments in the Champions League that will be accompanied by extra games and also with the often complicated continental travel that could test the club’s squad depth.

Chiefs had a season to forget as they slumped to no fewer than 12 defeats in the league, a shocking return considering that relegated Marumo Gallants lost only 11 times though their 14 draws cooked their relegation goose. How the Chiefs fans and management must wish that victory in the Soweto Derby is rewarded with silverware.

Had that been the case they would have matched the twotrophy haul of their arch-rivals after doing the league double over Pirates for a second consecutive season. Instead, Amakhosi’s barren run now stretches into an embarrassing ninth season.

Sekhukhune United completed a highly satisfactory second season in the top-flight, finishing runners-up in the Nedbank Cup and seventh in the league. Coach Brandon Truter deserves credit for turning around the fortunes of a team that was bottom of the table when he took over during the break for the World Cup in November.

While Babina Noko rose from bottom to top, newcomers Richards Bay headed in the other direction as they just about escaped relegation. After a highly promising start that saw them rising as high as second, they endured a winless run in their last 14 games of the campaign to finish 13th on 33 points, just three ahead of Chippa United and Maritzburg United. Marumo Gallants were relegated on the last day of the season, ending a miserable week for the club after they had also been beaten three days earlier by Tanzania’s Young Africans in the semifinal of the Confederation Cup.

Maritzburg United earned themselves a lifeline by securing a spot in the play-offs against Cape Town Spurs and Casric Stars after those two teams finished second and third in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

The Team of Choice will be aiming for a similar outcome to their experience in 2019 when they won all four games to retain their top-flight status. Chippa survived on the final day of the season but they were once again reduced to being the butt of jokes due to the penchant of owner Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi for hiring and firing coaches at the first hint of a tough spell.

So it was that they started the season with Daine Klate, who was soon followed by Morgan Mammila, Kurt Lentjies and Siyabulela Gwambi, who in turn handed over the baton to Lehlohonolo Seema to finish what could be described as the final leg of a relay.

Not surprisingly, Seema, who like Gwambi and Lentjies took up the head coaching position for a second time, was fired after the last game as the Chilli Boys look set to start the new season, as they did the last, with a new coach.