Polokwane need to rise and shine
JOHANNESBURG: Will it be a case of third-time lucky for Polokwane City when they host Baroka FC on Saturday?
Rise and Shine have played their two Absa Premiership matches at “home” and lost them both, to Black Leopards and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Granted, the opening match against Leopards was away, at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium the club also use for their big matches.
The defeats are actually an anomaly for Polokwane, who generally do well at a venue they’ve turned into a fortress of sorts.
That they survived relegation last season was largely due to their good home run, with none of the teams that finished in the top three - Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs - getting maximum points in the Limpopo capital.
Saturday’s derby, the maiden Woza Nazo game of the season, provides them with a chance to kickstart their campaign.
Yet to score a goal, having lost 1-0 to Leopards and 2-0 to Sundowns, Polokwane are going to have to be much sharper in front of goal.
Their new coach Jozef Vukusic needs to start producing results before trigger-happy owner Johnny Mogaladi begins panicking.
A history of this Limpopo derby, however, seems to suggest that success is unlikely. Having started their rivalry in the National First Division, the two clubs renewed their wars in the elite league.
But unlike in the second tier, where matches were often decided, it has always been stalemates in the elite league.
Last season their league clashes ended goalless and 1-1 while in Baroka’s maiden campaign in the top tier, there was a goalless stalemate as well as a 2-2 tie.
For there to be a winner, Polokwane will want their talismanic skipper Jabu Maluleke to rediscover the magic that has seen him carry the club throughout their elite league campaign.
Maluleke is a renowned creator of goals and on Saturday those killer passes will have to be spot on for Rodney Ramagalela to latch onto and deliver the goods.
Baroka, on the other hand, were in action last night against Kaizer Chiefs and the result of that match will have a bearing on their mentality when they trot on to the pitch on Saturday.
Bakgaga are on a high, though, having just signed a new four-year sponsorship deal with Global Oil, and will be inspired to show their new backers they have partnered with the right club.
Not that they will be short of motivation; after all, local derbies are the kind of matches that see players always giving their all.
And with Polokwane’s quest for their maiden win of the season not doubt set to see them firing on all cylinders, and Baroka eager to be the first to register victory in the Polokwane derby, there should be fireworks at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. This article is part of Independent Media’s partnership with Absa for the Woza Nazo campaign.