There are plenty of surprises at the top of the Premier League table with only Kaizer Chiefs representing the big names
SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi
WHEN the Castle Premiership kicked off last August, traditional giants Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Sundowns were expected to lead the chase for a record R500 000 first prize.
As the national league moves towards the mid- season break, however, only Chiefs can look back with satisfaction at their results in the 18-club championship.
The Amakhosi have collected 26 points after 10 rounds, four more than closest rivals Manning Rangers, a side emerging from shadows cast by better known Durban club Amazulu.
Chiefs, seeking their first championship title since 1992, have been particularly impressive in away fixtures with significant victories at Rangers and Bush Bucks already secured.
Expensively assembled Sundowns are in mid- table, an appropriate postion for a team which has won four matches and lost four, scored nine goals and conceded nine.
The surprise of the early stages is the mediocre form of Pirates, the club who conquered Africa last year after lifting the 1994 South African title in a photo-finish with Cape Town Spurs.
Pirates lie 13th having won only three of eight matches and while one remembers the famous Naas Botha line about the Currie Cup not being won in May, the Buccaneers may well have lost the Premiership by December. Deep down one senses that the men who wear the skull and crossbones relish the do-or-die nature of cup football more than the seemingly mundane chore of a league campaign.
Defending champions Spurs, the only club outside the `big three’ to win the blue riband of domestic football, are seventh, a creditable placing given that most of the league-winning team have moved on. Moroka Swallows and Amazulu, clubs desperately trying to rekindle the fires of former glory, are even worse off than Pirates with just two victories each.
Swallows recently hired former national coach Augusto Palacios, who played for Peru in the World Cup and has probably not been given sufficient credit for his role in the development of Bafana Bafana. Palacios quickly discovered the realities of life at the aviary, losing at home to QwaQwa Stars, although a draw at Chiefs last weekend suggests better times may be ahead.
Amazulu supporters believe they have a right to be among the elite and instead of encouraging a team which appears to be leaderless, they fling stones and storm dressingrooms.
These actions will not do the nerves of coach Mike Makaab and his players any good, and are unlikely to bring about the dramatic revival the perpetrators so dearly want.
At the bottom, Witbank Aces are early favourites for relegation, a fate that will be even more painful from this season given the huge financial incentives on offer to Premiership clubs. Bloemfontein Celtic, a club apparently divided against themselves, are also in the relegation zone, their good results in the pre-season Coca-Cola Challenge a fast-fading memory.
Much of the trouble stems from clashes involving club boss Petros Molemela, known as White Head and one of those larger-than-life personalties essential for the health of a sport. Unfortunately, Molemela often confuses his duties with those of his coach, leading to the loss of Stanley Phiri, Palacios and Walter Rautmann in rapid succession.
A surprising feature of the new league has been the number of away victories, 31 against 33 home wins and 23 draws with Chiefs and Rangers boasting 100% records on the road. Goals have not flowed freely, though, with 170 in 87 matches giving an average of 1,95, a figure below even the more defensive European championships like Italy.’s
ENDS