PSL giants on a mission to conquer Africa
THE journey to conquer Africa will continue for the big three in South African football this weekend. But ahead of the Champions League and Confederation Cup quarter-final return legs only Kaizer Chiefs have one foot in the semi-finals.
Chiefs visit Simba holding a healthy 4-0 advantage. Mamelodi Sundowns have to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Al Ahly at home, while Orlando Pirates will need to score away to Raja Casablanca after their 1-1 draw in order to keep alive their chances of reaching the semis.
SIMBA V CHIEFS
Chiefs were the biggest winners in the Champions League quarter-finals last weekend. They thumped Simba 4-0 at the FNB Stadium to ensure that progressing to their first ever semi-finals is very much in their hands heading to the second leg in Dar es Salaam.
Chiefs know they can't leave any stone unturned especially knowing Simba’s history. The Tanzanians recorded one of the biggest comebacks in CAF history when they beat Mufulira Wanderers 5-0 in the return leg after a 4-0 defeat in the first outing. But that was four decades ago.
Coach Gavin Hunt will look to his striking contingent to continue where they left off against Simba. Striker Samir Nurkovic scored a brace, while his partner Leonardo Castro scored one goal. Defender Eric Mathoho opened the scoring spree in Johannesburg.
But it’s not about holding play high up in the field for Chiefs where Nurkovic and Castro will attempt to find an away goal. The defensive and goalkeeping departments have to be solid, especially with the Tanzanians
set to throw everything at them, the kitchen sink included.
SUNDOWNS V AL AHLY
Arguably one of, if not the biggest, match of the season. Over the years, there’s been a growing rivalry between the southern and northern African giants in the hunt for continental glory. But there's greater significance to this season’s Champions League encounter.
Defending champions Al Ahly were propelled to glory by Pitso Mosimane after he left Sundowns in October last year. Mosimane has already won round one against his former employers, winning the first leg 2-0 at home in Cairo last Saturday.
Mosimane returns to South Africa with a slight disadvantage. Al Ahly have never beaten Sundowns at home. But what could work in Al Ahly's favour is that the match will be played behind closed doors.
Sundowns are optimistic of their chances of overturning the deficit and progressing to the next round. They received a morale booster this week, with the Footballer of the Season,
Themba Zwane, said to be in contention to start today after missing the first leg due to an injury.
With Zwane, Peter Shalulile and Gaston Sirino up front, Sundowns will have their formidable scoring unit back. They’ll know that to progress to the next round they can’t be wasteful up front – or defensively – as they were in the Land of the Pharaohs.
CASABLANCA V PIRATES
Pirates’ season has taken a drastic U-turn in the last few months. After a bright start to their campaign, which included winning the MTN8, Pirates have stuttered in the league. They are outside of the continental qualifying spots.
But that could change if they win their last four matches. That’s easier said than done though as Bucs have struggled to churn out consistent outings week in and week out. Their Confederation Cup campaign though has been steady, having lost once in 10 matches so far.
Ensuring that they get a result away to Casablanca could be Pirates’ biggest ask in the competition so far. But Josef Zinnbauer will know that progressing to the next round, and finishing in the top three, is what will buy him more time as Pirates’ commander in chief next season.
For the Sea Robbers to sail to victory in Morocco, they’ll have to bring their scoring boots. And that will require an effort from all the outfield players, especially with Gabadinho Mhango the only out-and-out striker who's available for selection, while the rest are injured.
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THE Monaco GP is on the bucket list of world sporting events for many, and who can deny its glitz, glamour and the courage, skill and talent it takes to squeeze an F1 car through its insanely tight circuit?
After being cancelled last year due to Covid-19, the Crown Jewel of F1 is back, and here we look at three factors, and one concern, that could define the GP tomorrow.
Wow, wow, wow … where did that come from …
The last time Ferrari won a race was at Monza in 2019 when Charles Leclerc powered his way to victory at Monza. Legal issues followed for the Scuderia thereafter, which pinched the output of their power unit, and led to some shadowy deals being struck behind the scenes and then the disastrous 2020 season followed.
On Thursday at Monaco, however, Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz topped the second free-practice timesheets, taking everyone by surprise. The pace of the Scuderia seems genuine – in the first practice session they put in some good lap times on the white-band hard compound tyre – and according to F1.com, the Ferraris is just 0.09 seconds off the pace of the Red Bull, and 0.03 behind Mercedes.
The Tifosi have also been waiting since 2017 to see the Prancing Horse win at F1’s most illustrious race. That year Sebastian Vettel claimed victory, and a celebratory dip in the pool afterwards.
It’s all about the tracking
If Ferrari emulate their pace in qualifying, then there is every chance that they can claim that victory.
Track position is everything at Monaco, where the corners are hard and slow, the straight short, and the overtaking bloody difficult. If it does happen, then expect it to happen at Turn 1 Sainte Devote, Turn 5 Mirabeau Haute, Turn 8 Portier, the Nouvelle Chicane and Turn 17 La Rascasse. That might seem like a long list of opportunities, but each corner requires nerves of steel and millimetre precision to miss the Armco barriers and effect an overtake.
The slower teams also have an opportunity to maximise their track position, if they have a good qualifying and opening lap of the race, as it is not unusual for faster drivers to get stuck and frustrated behind loitering cars. On average, there are 12 overtakes at Monaco – by far the least on the calendar – so every one of them counts.
The Sultans of downforce
Red Bull had a slightly underwhelming Thursday, but are still expected to be the fastest car in the paddock today. Monaco is considered one of their tracks – it is a high downforce circuit, which is Red Bull’s bread and butter.
All the other teams will be running a similar setup, including Mercedes, which is hard on the tyres, so management and tactics will play a significant role in the running of the race, especially if a 1-pitstop strategy is involved. Hamilton’s and Verstappen’s teammates – Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez – will be of equal importance, and both must be in contention to ensure that no pitwall shenanigans undercut their respective teams.
In 2019 Hamilton put in a brilliant performance on ageing medium-compound tyres that had lost most of their mechanical grip to keep Verstappen at bay, the Dutchman making a slight error in lap 76 as he tried to force an overtake.
Verstappen can ill-afford such a mistake tomorrow, so he needs every aspect of his team and car to work together if he – or Perez – are to claim what will be a very important victory, and keep the rivalry alive between the two teams.
And that concern … a barrier to success
Clearly, what we don’t want to see is either Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen or Perez smashing their cars into the barriers tomorrow. Verstappen, especially, needs to keep his cool, and remain calm as he completes his rotation around the Circuit de Monaco.
The 23-year-old is 14 points behind Hamilton in the world championship standings, and crashing out of the race – if Hamilton is in the lead – could be a major setback for Red Bull. The first corner of the race, Sainte Devote, could be the turning point that defines the race, especially if the two rivals are at the front of the grid. Any wheel-to-wheel action is a danger around the track, especially at Mirabeau Haute, the Grand Hotel hairpin, Mirabeau Bas, the chicane after the tunnel and Portier.
Drivers who push too hard, could also end their day easily at Tabac and Piscine, so accuracy and concentration will be the watchwords tomorrow.