Arrows right on target to make a big impression
There was an Indian chap who never used to sit down when his club was in action.
He would pace up and down the stand for the duration of the match.
His cry, at the top of his voice: “Maulers! Rangers! was the soundtrack at Chatsworth Stadium.
That man must have been the happiest person on earth at the end of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) maiden season.
His Manning Rangers made it a fairytale season for him and his fellow supporters.
Coached by Gordon Igesund and captained by Marc Davies, the team boasted names like Grant Johnson. Nkiphitheni Matombo. Bradley Muir. Liswa Nduti. Innocent Chikoya. Clinton Larsen. Marcus Mphafudi. Solomuzi Nzimande. David Modise. Warren du Pont. Simon Makhubela. Keryn Jordaan, George Koumantarakis. Gilbert Mushangzhike.
In two words, unfancied upstarts.
That did not stop them from becoming the unheralded heroes of the 1996-97 season.
They won the league with 74 points — eight ahead of second-placed Kaizer Chiefs — from 34 games.
Champagne flowed in Chatsworth. That was the last time a club from the city of eThekwini were champions of the domestic league.
In the 2001-02 season it was the turn of a west coast team to turn the tables on the usual suspects.
Santos pulled the rug from under the feet of the other 17 teams in the league when they won the championship.
Again, the man with a Midas touch, Igesund, was the coach. Edries Burton skippered the side.
Andre Arendse. Musa Otieno. David Notoane. John Mbidzo. Ricardo Mannetti.
The Madagascar duo of Jean-Marc Ithier
Santos pulled the rug from under the other 17 teams when they won the championship
and Sebastian Bax were also in the mix.
A team that is quietly working on potentially pulling off the unexpected is a certain Lamontville Golden Arrows.
Abafana Bes’thende, as the green and yellow team is affectionately known to its followers, are going through what thus far is the greatest season of their existence in top-flight football.
Not dissimilar to Rangers and Santos, the Lamontvilians operate on a shoestring budget.
They even play in a no-name brand jersey. But the brand of football they play is so pleasing and easy on the eye that it makes neutrals sit up and take notice.
The Arrows camp experienced a change in coaches. The departure of Steve Komphela to Mamelodi Sundowns did not bring about disruption in their ranks.
Instead, observers have witnessed a seamless transition from previous coach Komphela to his former assistant and incumbent Mandla Ncikazi.
If fact, Arrows have done better in terms of points in the bag under Ncikazi than they did under his predecessor.
In a word, progress. Last season they finished 12th with 34 points from 30 games.
Today they are second on the log standings and have collected 35 points after 19 games.
Which confirms that Ncikazi is a cool character and an unassuming levelheaded man, who is also an astute student of the game.
It is admirable how he has been able to bring out the best in his charges.
Mamelodi Sundowns stand 13 matches away from becoming the first PSL Invincibles. A season undefeated will be another feather in the multi-decorated cap of the reigning champions.
It would take a collapse of monumental proportions for things to fall apart at Sundowns. They look well oiled. The new players the Brazilians brought in at the beginning of the season have fitted like a glove.
The coaching arrangement of
Manqoba Mngqithi, Rulani Mokwena and Komphela is acting in concert. If Downs were to fall and Arrows continue rising, few will begrudge them claiming the championship.