SOCCER:Andrew Muchineripi
AS Manning Rangers bask in the glory of winning the inaugural Castle Premiership soccer championship, several key figures within the squad have continually created headlines.
Coach Gordon Igesund has received due praise for moulding a team of virtual nonentities into one good enough to finish eight points clear of Kaizer Chiefs and 10 ahead of Orlando Pirates.
Big striker George Koumantarakis has been lauded for scoring 17 goals, a figure bettered only by the Silver Fox from Umtata, Footballer of the Year Wilfred Mugeyi of Bush Bucks.
The defensive abilities of Bradley Muir earned him several Bafana Bafana call-ups and midfielder Clinton Larsen made his international debut in the Nelson Mandela Inauguration Challenge defeat by Holland. Lizwa Nduti is not a name that springs readily to mind, though, as the Zairean is a midfield servant, winning the ball and providing the passes for Big George and company to stick away. However, as Rangers celebrate winning the R500 000 first prize and a place in the 1998 African Champions League, they owe the often shy, unsmiling Nduti a deep debt of gratitude.
It was his goal against Celtic in Bloemfontein last April which earned the Mighty Maulers a crucial 1-0 victory at a time when the league title appeared to be slipping away from the pre-season outsiders. The goal typified so much about the no-nonsense approach of Rangers, whose championship triumph was built on a platform of 14 victories in 17 away fixtures, including 10 in a row from the start of the season.
A free kick was pushed sideways to Nduti, whose shot flew into the net at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium where many clubs left pointless, including former African champions Pirates.
After consecutive defeats by closest rivals Chiefs and mid-table Jomo Cosmos, another loss could have spelt the end of a brave challenge to oust the glamour clubs from the limelight.
Buoyed by victory in the Free State capital, Rangers won their next five matches to finish deserved winners and complete a fairytale rise from obscurity in the shadow of better known local rivals Amazulu.
While Rangers were confounding the football fans, officials and the media with their success, Amazulu once again flattered only to deceive after beating Rangers decisively in the opening round. To Warren Lewis went the honour of scoring the first Premiership goal, but little went right for the Usuthu and it took two points earned off the pitch to save them from relegation at the expense of Michau Warriors.
Bush Bucks failed to produce identity cards for two players who took part in a goalless draw with Amazulu in Umtata and after a long delay and several appeals, the Durban club were awarded a 2-0 victory.
The departure of Warriors after just one season was a bitter blow to the Premier League, who desperately wanted to establish a presence in Port Elizabeth, although the team seldom looked anything but relegation material.
Apart from Rangers, Bucks confirmed their growing status by finishing fourth although the impending loss of Zimbabwean Mugeyi to Germany is a blow they may not easily recover from.
The Silver Fox scored 22 league goals and three more in the Coca-Cola Cup, which Bucks won a record second time. A new R7- million competition, the Rothmans Cup, takes its place next season.
Hellenic recovered well from a disastrous Coca-Cola Challenge Cup campaign to take fifth position and the leading places were completed by expensively-assembled Sundowns, combative Jomo Cosmos and Cape Town Spurs.
Supersport United, championship contenders until a dramatic second-half loss of form that brought just one win in 17 matches, were ninth, missing out on a top-eight place they once seemed certain to secure. The BP Top 8 has also been scrapped, but a high placing remains significant as the first eight clubs will be seeded in the Rothmans Cup, which carries a first prize of R1 million.
Weary legs now get a few weeks rest before embarking on a 34-match league programme that hopefully will culminate in Bafana Bafana heading for France and the 1998 World Cup.