Baroka may not survive but Swallows, TS Galaxy in danger
Too close to call, says Solomons
Two weeks to go to the end of the season and it is still not clear who of Baroka, Swallows and TS Galaxy will face automatic relegation.
Baroka are favourites to be relegated to the GladAfrica Championship with two tricky remaining fixtures against SuperSport United and Maritzburg United. Swallows are also in trouble with a match against Chippa United on Saturday and Kaizer Chiefs.
Former coach Boebie Solomons, who was once in this situation before with Santos, Black Leopards and Polokwane City, and managed to save those clubs, wouldn’t predict who will be relegated.
“The way I see it, things can still change, because Baroka are playing Maritzburg and they are also playing SuperSport,” Solomons said.
“So, there is still a lot that can happen if I look at the points of Maritzburg, Chippa, Galaxy, Swallows and Baroka. It is still very tight. Maritzburg and Chippa [have] got 28 points. Galaxy 26 and Baroka are trying to get into that playoff spot because if they can make it to the playoffs at least they stand a chance.
“Nothing is lost for Baroka and all those teams above them are still in a tight spot.
They are also playing each other. It is very tight.”
Baroka can be relegated this weekend should they fail to win against SuperSport and Swallows beat Chippa. They need to win their remaining games and hope results favour them in other fixtures.
“How you perform is going to be important,” Solomons said, “how are you going to motivate players and keep them focused.
“The biggest problem is that coaches around this time step up training. They give more training and focus on so many things, and sometimes this is the problem because you put more stress on the players and this is the time when you should put less pressure.
“The coaches should be calming the players down and making them forget the situations that they are in.”
Fixtures (all at 3pm)
Saturday: Sundowns v Stellenbosch, Tuks; Galaxy v Gallants, Mbombela; Swallows v Chippa, Dobsonville; Baroka v SuperSport, Peter Mokaba; CPT City v AmaZulu, Cape Town; Sekhukhune v Chiefs, Ellis Park; Arrows v Royal, Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.