Pretoria – Mamelodi Sundowns boss Pitso Mosimane has hinted that Kaizer Chiefs will be the team under pressure to win the Premiership, due to having two games in hand by the end of the coming weekend.
Sundowns will be in action on Saturday, while Chiefs – currently second in the league standings – will be involved in a Caf Confederations Cup tie and will not be able to take part in the league.
Already a game behind the log-leaders, Chiefs will have two games to catch up by the end of the weekend, and Mosimane said he was happy to sit back and watch as the Amakhosi attempt to win their games in hand.
“It’s going to be tough. We play again on Saturday. To be honest, I’ll be happy to have three more points and have a six point lead and watch,” Mosimane said after Sundowns edged Mpumalanga Black Aces 1-0 at Loftus on Wednesday to stay three points clear at the top of the table.
“I want to play tomorrow if I can. Hopefully I’ll get the same results and I can watch. It’s better when you have points that you’ve already collected, than you have to play for.
“We hope to win (on Saturday) and we’ll leave it up to Wits and Chiefs. Wits still have to play Chiefs.”
For Sundowns to win the Premiership, the mission is simple — win their three remaining games, and score more goals than Chiefs.
Should Chiefs and Downs win all of their remaining fixtures, the league will be decided by goal-difference, a statistic Mosimane says he was looking to improve on Wednesday, but failed by only scoring a single goal.
“The performance was not very smooth. We didn’t play very nicely because the guys were a little bit nervous, we wanted the second goal by all means but we didn’t get it, so we took the three points and we go home,” Mosimane said.
“I needed the goals, we can see that this league is going to be decided by goals… it’s going to be that close.
“It’s not going to be easy and the games are getting less. When the games get less and you win, you are in a proper position, but it’s not easy.”
With the league already poised for a nail-biting finish, Wednesday’s results further indicated a tight finish to one of the closest title races in recent history.
Chiefs beat Polokwane City 2-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, while Sundowns managed a single goal, ensuring the teams are both sitting on a goal-difference of 22.
If both teams finish level on points and level on goal-difference, the league winners will be the team who scored the most goals in the season.
As it stands, Mosimane’s troops lead that statistic, having outscored the Glamour Boys by eight goals. Chiefs will have the trickier of the sides’ remaining games, with a game against Wits later this month causing the most headaches for the Soweto outfit.
Wits have been in dazzling form and still have an outside chance of winning the league, making the fixture between the two title hopefuls a do-or-die encounter for both. – Sapa