JOHANNESBURG - The start of the PSL season “under the new normal” must be bittersweet, given that while the campaign will begin behind closed doors, one of the opening matches will be between Soweto’s oldest rivals Orlando Pirates and Swallows FC.
As the MTN8 gets under way this afternoon, with Golden Arrows hosting SuperSport United in the curtain raiser at Princess Magogo Stadium (3pm kick-off), all eyes will be on the “original Soweto derby” when Pirates host Swallows in Orlando later.
The two Soweto giants are expected to produce a thriller. Not only are bragging rights up for grabs, but either side can take a step closer to claiming the season’s first honours – just after four rounds of matches in the Wafa Wafa competition.
The Buccaneers know the thrills that come with winning the competition, given they are the holders after winning the silverware to end their six-year trophy drought – a feat that will make them eager to prove against the Dube Birds that it was not a fluke.
Pirates are not about the trial and error method either, given that they’ve kept the core of last season’s team and so far made only three signings. However, while their defensive and engine unit looks sharp, coach Josef Zinnbauer will be wary of his attack.
Strikers Tshegofatso Mabaso and Zakhele Lepasa battled with injuries for the better part of last season, leaving only a fully-fit Gabadinho Mhango. And should there be little service from the midfield, Mhango tends to get frustrated and invite unnecessary bookings.
Pirates can play the ball, as usual, using midfield duo Ben Motshwari and Thabang Monare, but they must make sure that wingers Deon Hotto and Vincent Pule are also fed so that they can have shots at goal or supply Mhango with crosses in the box.
Swallows will be happy to catch Pirates on counter-attacks, using the speed of wingers Keletso Makgalwa and Kamohelo Mahlatsi. And they’ll have to utilise their target man Ruzaigh Gamildien, considering that the Pirates defence tends to sleep at times.
Last season, the two Soweto giants held each other to two draws in the league. In today’s encounter, though, one of them is bound to crash out of the competition in the quarter-final, and whichever side prevails will join either Arrows or SuperSport in a two-legged semi-final.
☠ 🚨 𝗠![CDATA[]]>𝗔![CDATA[]]>𝗧![CDATA[]]>𝗖![CDATA[]]>𝗛 𝗗![CDATA[]]>𝗔![CDATA[]]>𝗬 🚨
— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates) August 14, 2021
🏆 #MTN8 Quarterfinal
⚽️ @orlandopirates vs @Moroka_Swallows
📆 Today, 14 August 2021
🏟 Orlando Stadium
🕕 18h00
📺 SuperSport PSL
⚫⚪🔴⭐#WafaWafa #Matchday #OrlandoPirates #OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/zsZj489Mxj
Arrows enjoyed an impressive outing last season, recording their highest finish (fourth) in the league under Mandla Ncikazi.
Ncikazi has since left the club and has been replaced by Lehlohonolo Seema who had a full-pre-season with the squad.
Despite being sacked at his previous full-time jobs, at Black Leopards and Chippa United, Seema helped the latter to regain their top flight status through the promotion/relegation play-offs in July on a temporary basis, showing his prowess in knockout games.
Moreover, before resigning at Bloemfontein Celtic last year, he had guided the Siwelele to the Nedbank Cup semi-final. But it’s yet to be seen whether his “knockout stage” pedigree will come to the fore against his SuperSport counterpart Kaitano Tembo.
Tembo won the MTN8 with SuperSport two seasons ago. And he’ll be eager to repeat that achievement this year, given that his team endured an underwhelming stint last term after a trophy-less outing and a disappointing fifth-place finish on the log.
@mihlalibaleka