Bucs off to a flier, Chiefs wobble

THE 2016-17 Absa Premiership is up and running after the completion of seven Round 1 matches in midweek. No less than 16 goals were scored, with the highlight a hat-trick from Orlando Pirates’ Tendai Ndoro. The Zimbabwean was completely anonymous in the first half of the Buccaneers’ home clash against Golden Arrows on Wednesday night, but came to life after the break and registered the first treble of the 2016-17 PSL season to see Muhsin Ertugral’s team rise to the top of the standings.

Other fixtures on Wednesday evening saw Platinum Stars down Stuart Baxter’s SuperSport United 1-0 in Rustenburg thanks to a header from Malawian Robert Ng’ambi, while Kurt Lentjies scored the only goal of the game in Bloemfontein to see Maritzburg United to victory over Celtic — the only away win recorded across the two days.

Tuesday’s action saw newly-formed Cape Town City open their account with a 2-0 win over Polokwane City — former Black Aces players Bhongo Jayiya and Aubrey Ngoma scored the goals — while their crosstown rivals Ajax Cape Town were held 1-1 in Limpopo by newly-promoted Baroka FC.

Chippa United continued with the strong form they showed last season by downing Free State Stars 2-1 (Rhulani Manzini scored the first brace of the season), while the standout result of the round saw Bidvest Wits beat Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in Johannesburg.

Elias Pelembe and Thulani Hlatshwayo netted for the Clever Boys as they laid down a marker for the rest of the season.

Defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns did not play their proposed Round 1 match against promoted Highlands Park as they were busy participating in the Caf Champions League. MIDFIELDER Danny Drinkwater (26) has signed a new five-year deal with Leicester City that will keep him at the club until 2021, the Premier League champions announced yesterday.

Drinkwater, who joined Leicester from Manchester United in 2012, was a mainstay in the club’s fairytale campaign last season, making 35 league appearances for Claudio Ranieri’s side.

“I’ve loved playing for this club, it’s been perfect for me and my career and I want to be here for a long time to come. I couldn’t be happier,” Drinkwater told the club’s website.

“I've grown a lot as a player and a person in the last four years and Leicester City has been a massive part of that. I owe a lot to the staff here for helping me get to this point – they’ve been quality.” — Reuters