Relegation battle far from a foregone conclusion

BAROKA FC looked dead-set to be relegated up to a few weeks ago, but their recent upturn in form means that they could potentially just pull off a great escape on the last day of the Premiership season.

Baroka have won two out of their last three games, with their most recent being a 3-1 win over SuperSport United on Saturday, so they will fancy their chances of winning their last game of the league campaign against Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium this Saturday.

Baroka remain bottom of the standings, but are level on points with Swallows FC who are one position above them. Dylan Kerr's team have not won any of their last three games and their final assignment of the season will be a contest against a resurgent Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium this Saturday. It is definitely Swallows who have the harder of the assignments. While Maritzburg are only three points clear of the drop zone, their goal deficit means that it will only take a heavy defeat for Ernst Middendorp's team to drop into the relegation zone.

Swallows will be up against a Chiefs team that will go all out to win their last game of the season. A win for Chiefs could see them finish third or even earn themselves a second-place finish. Third place would see Chiefs qualify for the Caf Confederation Cup, while a runners-up spot would see them play in next season's Champions League.

The other team that has their work cut out this weekend in terms of the relegation scrap is TS Galaxy. The Rockets will play their final game of the season against Chippa United at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Only a win will be sufficient to ensure they avoid relegation.

They are two points clear of Swallows and Baroka, however TS Galaxy's goal difference of -17 means that there is a strong chance that Swallows and Baroka could usurp them in the log with draws in their respective games as they have goal differences of -14 and -17, respectively.

Chippa, meanwhile, all but ensured that they will taste another season of top-flight football after playing out to a 0-0 draw with Swallows on Saturday.