Kaizer Chiefs’ season started off with much promise. Prior to the culmination of the 2020/2021 campaign, Amakhosi rehired Stuart Baxter with the hopes that the Briton could finally end the silverware drought which stretches all the way back to his departure from the club in 2015.

Following the end of a Fifa-imposed season-long transfer ban, the team made some shrewd acquisitions in the transfer market prior to the start of the 2021/2022 season. They snapped up the experienced Keagan Dolly, who has been a priceless addition to the team. They also won the signatures of in-demand players such as defenders Njabulo Ngcobo and Austin Dube.

Halfway through the season, all the hopes that Amakhosi had of winning a trophy and ending what is now a seven-year trophy drought are dead in the water.

They were knocked out in the first round of the MTN8 last year, they recently suffered the same fate in the Nedbank Cup after being ousted by TS Galaxy. In the DStv Premiership, the Soweto side lags 19 points behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

It’s a bleak outlook for a season that began with so much expectation. But the Naturena-based outfit has not given up on salvaging what they can from the games they have left.

“The biggest priority right now is to compete as best as we can to make sure that we can clinch the Champions League spot — or anything can happen in the league, Sundowns can drop points. It’s happened to us before. Nothing is over in football, but of course we have to rectify,” said Chiefs sporting director, Kaizer Motaung Jr on the team’s displays.

“It’s been a terrible sore point that we’ve been knocked out in the first round of the Nedbank Cup. It was a massive blow for us and something we cannot accept and we agree with our faithful in terms of how they feel about it”.

On Saturday 26 January Chiefs clash with Baroka who are rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table. If there was a time for Amakhosi to step onto the path of redemption it is this game.

Bakgakga are currently on a meagre 14 points from the 19 games they’ve played to date. The Limpopo-based team is freefalling towards the second-tier GladAfrica Championship and, similarly to Amakhosi, need a good run of wins to save themselves from the dreaded drop.

Before that crucial tie, Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United will whet the appetites of local football lovers when they tangle in an ever-riveting KwaZulu-Natal derby on Friday night. In their last four league clashes with each other, the duo has scored 14 goals between them, with both winning two games from the four.

The Team of Choice will be the more confident of the two though, buoyed by besting SuperSport United in their last match. On the other hand, Abafana Besthende come off the back of a defeat at the hands of Cape Town City.

In the only game to be played on Sunday, SuperSport lock horns with top-flight rookies Royal AM looking to rectify the mistakes made as they went down to Maritzburg. A win for United will see them jumping from eighth to position five on the Premiership table.

“The guys were disappointed. I was also disappointed. That’s not the result that we expected. That’s not the result [which matches] the work we put in… But we move, that’s football,” said SuperSport defender Onismor Bhasera on their loss last time out.  

“We are going [to Royal AM] to win. We need to try and keep a clean sheet. If we can do that and also get an early goal, then we can play our normal football”.

With Sundowns, AmaZulu and Orlando Pirates competing in continental club football this weekend, the teams that would’ve been their respective opponents — TS Galaxy, Stellenbosch and Cape Town City — will sit out the weekend’s action. DM

Full DStv Premiership fixtures:

Friday

Maritzburg United vs Golden Arrows (7:30pm)

Saturday

Chippa United vs Marumo Gallants (3:30pm)

Sekhukhune United vs Swallows (5:30pm)

Baroka vs Kaizer Chiefs (7:30pm)

Sunday

Supersport United vs Royal AM (3:30pm)

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