COMES DOWN TO THIS...
Much at stake on final day of season today – league title, top eight, relegation, Africa too
There is a strong possibility that Goble Park could witness two extremes – one team lifting the Absa Premiership (Sundowns) and the other relegated to the first division (Stars).
Should Maritzburg United and Black Leopards win their matches, a loss for Ea Lla Koto will condemn them to the NFD.
These two battles should make this an entertaining match as there’s a lot at stake for both these teams.
The Brazilians need just a win to claim league title No 9. After bowing out of the CAF Champions League in the last four, Sundowns will be driven to make up for that disappointment by getting the league title that coach Pitso
Mosimane said he was uninspired by. The Buccaneers have to play this match with one eye on what is happening at Goble Park as a win alone will not be enough for Pirates to win the championship.
They also must hope that Free State Stars defeat Sundowns.
With their status in the Premier Soccer League up for grabs, Ea Lla Koto won’t just be doing Pirates a favour with a win – they would be doing themselves a massive favour.
But Rise and Shine will not make things easy for Pirates. Jozef Vukusic has done wonders with Polokwane City, who could finish as high as fourth, which would be their best finish in the club’s history.
The battle of the Serbians (Vukusic versus Milutin Sredojevic) will be an intense and mentally draining fight. Matsatsantsa a Pitori’s position in the top eight is secure but the same cannot be said for Highlands, who occupy eighth place.
The rookies have set themselves the target of finishing in the top eight in their first season since returning to Premiership football. They have looked good, turning Makhulong Stadium into a fortress that teams don’t want to visit.
Highlands suffocate their opponents in their compact stadium while thousands of Tembisa faithfuls cheer them on. Those fans have an opportunity to see their team in the MTN8 next season. A win would guarantee that.
If they don’t win, they’ll hope that Golden Arrows and Bloemfontein Celtic don’t get maximum points. It’s quite interesting that Lidoda Duvha will learn their fate at Thohoyandou Stadium – a venue where their loud fans pushed them to glory in the play-offs.
It’s a venue where their fans regularly come out in their thousands, regardless of who they are playing, to back the pride of the Vhembe district. Should they be relegated to the NFD, it would be a great loss to South African football.
To ensure that doesn’t happen, they need a win against the Citizens and hope that either Free State Stars, Chippa United or Baroka FC drop points.
The Citizens, on the other hand, are fighting for third place. They need to win by two goals or more to move into third place, which would guarantee them CAF Confederation Cup football next season. But that will only be the case if Bidvest Wits lose their last match.
The Clever Boys have an outside chance of winning the title.
Should the PSL have their way and Wits are awarded three points and a 3-0 win over Sundowns due to the Brazilians fielding an ineligible player, Wits would move to 53 points and Sundowns would drop to 55 points.
Victory over Arrows, coupled with Sundowns and Pirates losing, would give them the championship but that’s a long shot. The more realistic target is third place.
They can even finish second, without the boardroom decision, if Polokwane get the better of the Buccaneers at Orlando Stadium. The equation is pretty simple for the Team of Choice:
Beat Baroka FC to avoid automatic relegation.
Should things go their way in one of the matches that involve Chippa, Stars and Leopards, they will be safe.
Maritzburg have saved their Premiership status on the last day of the season before, when all hope was seemingly lost having languished in the bottom of the league for the most part of that season.
The miracle in Potchefstroom is still spoken about fondly in the Midlands. That survival took guts and an inspirational showing. Maritzburg haven’t shown that enough this season.
Baroka have, especially in the Telkom Knockout, but that victory went to their heads and they struggled after that.
Bakgaga need victory to be safe as a point might take them to the play-offs. Anything less than a win for the Team of Choice is curtains for them. Chilli Boys coach Clinton Larsen is confident his team will beat Amakhosi. Larsen argued that Chiefs will play with one eye on the Nedbank Cup final, which means they probably won’t go for most 50-50 challenges, saving themselves for the final.
Chippa players will not pull out of any challenge knowing what’s at stake. This is a battle for survival, not only of the club’s stay in the PSL but also of some players’ careers.
Some Chiefs players will also be fighting for their careers with the club having already started wielding the axe.
Chiefs could suffer the embarrassment of not finishing in the top eight. That will be their drive against a team fighting for survival.