Wits, Chiefs to step up pressure on title race
IF WITS and Kaizer Chiefs have turned the corner then the Absa Premiership title race could be in for a rollercoaster second half of the season after the holidays.
Before that the Students and Amakhosi will have to overcome local obstacles Maritzburg United and Golden Arrows tonight and tomorrow respectively to enhance their title credentials.
Wits appear to have overcome a mini slump, which included consecutive defeats to Cape Town City and Supersport United, to bounce back to form with a 3-1 win over Free State Stars.
And the Glamour Boys brought back some shine through their fighting spirit when they edged Polokwane City 3-2 in a see-saw weekend encounter that ended an eight-game winless run in all competitions.
Wits come to KwaZulu-Natal sitting in second position, between CT City and Supersport, but having played two matches less than the Capetonians and one less than the Pretoria outfit.
They have the spark of longterm injury returnee, 19-yearold wonder-kid Phakamani Mahlambi, to credit for the defeat of Free State. He won a penalty, converted it, and then scored from open play to signal his return after nine months ago during his debut season.
The striker, touted to excel beyond the feats achieved by retired Bafana Bafana star Bennie McCarthy, was on the bench seven days ago when Wits played to a goalless result against Arrows in Durban. It was, perhaps, Arrows’ good fortune that his coach Gavin Hunt didn’t send him on.
Maritzburg will have to conjure a plan to smother Mahlambi’s vigour and improve their own scoring efficiency in order to register an upset win tonight in the KwaZulu-Natal capital.
With Zimbabwean midfielder Blessing Moyo taking a knock in the goalless outing at Platinum Stars on Saturday, chances are utility defensive player Kwanda Mngonyama will slot back into the starting side after completing a one-match ban.
The Team of Choice turned a corner of sorts with the weekend draw. It marked four games unbeaten, two wins and two draws, since the departure of German coach Ernst Middendorp and caretaker coach Fadlu Davids’ interim reign.
If the home outfit take even a point against Wits, it will provide a solid foundation for a new coach to build on once the league resumes after the January break.
For Chiefs to be in fourth, despite a lengthy winless drought, points to the inconsistencies of other outfits like Orlando Pirates and Polokwane, and the inactivity of defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
A first league goal in more than a year for Bernard Parker, and a first goal for Joseph Molangoane in his first start, could well signal a turn-around for Soweto’s fallen giants.
If it was a blip, then Arrows will expose it. Although Clinton Larsen’s side are struggling for wins – three draws and two defeats since their last victory – their fighting spirit is intact.
Arrows shut out Wits and then fought back for a point at Baroka FC. And despite Chiefs’ woes, most opponents tend to play above themselves when they meet the Amakhosi.
It should make for a cracker-jack affair to bring down the curtain on the league at the midway stage.