Pirates to use Premiership clash as MTN8 warm-up

THERE will be a full round of Premiership matches this weekend and three teams will be looking for their first wins of the season.

TS Galaxy, AmaZulu and Marumo Gallants have yet to score log points after successive defeats. Of the three, Gallants were the supreme underachievers and had already conceded eight goals after three matches.

At the other end of the table, Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Sekhukhune United and Royal AM are undefeated and will be looking to retain the status quo by the time weekend action ends.

Chilli Boys hunt Sekhukhune in Polokwane

After their midweek 1-1 draw against Chippa United, Sekhukhune will look to return to winning ways against Golden Arrows at the Peter Mokaba Stadium this afternoon at 3pm.

Sekhukhune have two successive victories and one draw this season, and they are placed sixth on the Premiership standings with four points from two matches.

Arrows, on the other hand, saw their six-match unbeaten run across all competitions end when they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to top-flight debutants, Magesi FC, on Thursday.

Arrows coach Mabhuti Khenyeza said the players need to sharpen up on teamwork.

“We struggled a bit in terms of the sharpness of our players, a little bit of combination plays,” said Khenyeza.

“But we were struggling a bit, which is good for the players because we have realised that we can absorb pressure and deal with the second phase.

“If they attack us, we must immediately win the ball for transition and then we can capitalise.”

Newbies equal to task of Fifa-banned AM?

Buoyant Magesi FC will look for back-to-back wins in the Premiership when they host Royal AM at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium at 5.30pm.

Magesi claimed their first-ever victory in the top local top-flight when they edged Arrows 1-0 away on Thursday courtesy of Wonderboy Makhubu’s late goal. This win ends Magesi’s winless streak and they have three points from three games.

Royal AM remains undefeated after a goalless draw with Richards Bay in the KZN encounter on Tuesday.

AM coach John Maduka says hard work is paying off for his players.

“These boys are working hard, and we motivate them. We make them understand the importance of becoming a team because if they are a team, it will be difficult to break them,” said Maduka.

“It helps a lot that they’ve been together for several seasons. When you play together for a long time, the understanding becomes easier.”

AmaZulu, Gallants already relegation candidates?

In their quest to finally collect points in the Premiership, AmaZulu travel to Gallants at the Toyota Stadium in the evening, 8pm.

Gallants lost their first three games to Chiefs, Arrows and Sundowns, which left them rock bottom in the standings. AmaZulu are one place above them after losing to Polokwane City and Chiefs.

Despite AmaZulu’s poor start, their coach Pablo Franco is optimistic that results will improve. He said that despite losing to Chiefs in their midweek clash, the team played well.

Gallants coach Dan Malesela on the one side, believes there’s no reason to panic because the team will turn things around.

“We played here against Sundowns and after we had chances, we didn’t score. We have conceded four and the last match was just a nightmare. We need to stop this thing of conceding goals,” said Malesela.

“I’m optimistic that in no time we will be moving away from where we are (on the log).”

CT City look continue revival search

Cape Town City face a tough test against SuperSport United at the Athlone Stadium at 8pm.

City were beaten 3-0 by fellow Cape rivals Stellenbosch during the week and are now a lowly 12th on the standings with just one point.

SuperSport fared far better during midweek when they registered their first Premiership win of the season after defeating TS Galaxy 1-0. This outcome saw SuperSport climb up to the ninth spot in the league standings and another win in the Mother City will move them into the top half of the table.

Tomorrow, there will be three matches and then the Premiership will have a month’s break ahead of the international matches and Carling Cup tournament.

Pirates at Bay

All eyes will be on the Bay versus Pirates match at the King Zwelithini Stadium, Umlazi, Durban at 3pm.

Pirates will use the match as a warm-up for next Saturday’s MTN8 final against Stellenbosch in Durban and will look to continue their unbeaten run in the Premiership.

In the remaining two matches tomorrow, Chippa will host TS Galaxy at the Buffalo City Stadium, East London (3pm), and Polokwane will play Stellenbosch at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane (5.30pm).