Arrows must conjure up something special

DURBAN: The top-eight position Golden Arrows occupied for much of the season could drift out of reach unless they conjure something special against Baroka FC in KwaMashu tomorrow afternoon.

A five-match winless spell has seen Arrows drop to 10th place, overtaken by Maritzburg United, Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates.

Another negative result, against a Baroka outfit fighting for their PSL lives, could kill Arrows’ shot at a top-eight finish.

After tomorrow’s match at the Princess Magogo Stadium they visit Cape Town City and host Pirates in back-toback Cup and league assignments.

With the Cape side enjoying a fairytale run and still having a mathematical chance of winning the PSL, it will be a difficult challenge to upset them in their own backyard.

To avoid last-day dramas against Pirates and to get back into contention, Arrows would do themselves a favour by bagging full points against Baroka, especially with home advantage.

Without suspended defensive midfield anchor Musa Bilankulu this becomes an even trickier tie, but coach Clinton Larsen will draw positives from his charges’ fighting spirit in securing a last-gasp draw at Kaizer Chiefs last weekend.

That result knocked Chiefs out of the title hunt and helped Arrows maintain their record of not having lost three games in a row this season.

In that barren run of five games, Arrows lost to Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns, the main championship contenders.

Larsen won’t hold that against his players. Instead he will remind them that during the five-game dip they still did the business in the Nedbank Cup, knocking out Platinum Stars to secure a semi-final date with Pirates.

But Baroka are on the rise. They come to Durban on the back of a 2-2 midweek draw at Sundowns.

With one defeat in their last eight league outings, Baroka are enjoying better form than Abafana Bes’thende and will fancy their chances of bagging a victory.

It’s a six-pointer weekend in the relegation zone.

Baroka’s rivals Highlands Park and Chippa United face off in Tembisa tonight and victory for Highlands will see them climb off the bottom and overtake both Baroka and Chippa.

It will be an equally tense weekend for local NFD rivals AmaZulu and Royal Eagles. Both head into Sunday’s final round with a chance of grabbing the final playoff spot.

AmaZulu in third place occupy the final playoff position, but could be overtaken if they fail to overcome FC Cape Town in the Mother City.