THURSDAY, 9.20AM:
The two giants of South African football meet this weekend when Orlando Pirates hosts Kaizer Chiefs in a game that has all the the ingredients for a thriller.
Pirates, who were booted out of the Rothmans Cup by Mamelodi Sundowns have vowed to redeem their dignity by beating Chiefs. Meanwhile, Chiefs, who have lost twice to Pirates last season, have got a point to prove.
“We are hungry for a win against Chiefs. We have not been getting good results in our past few games and I think Chiefs will be our turning point,” said Pirates’ Nigerian-born coach Shaibu Amodu.
Amodu dedicated Wednesday’s training session to ball controll, passing and finishing.
Meanwhile, his counterpart at Chiefs, Paul Dolezer, is a worried man after losing his defender Muisi Ajoa over the weekend. Ajoa was red-carded for head-butting Manning Rangers striker Kerryn Jordaan in their Rothmans Cup semi-final game at Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday. “Losing Ajoa is a big, big problem for me. I will have to make a plan,” said the Frenchman.
Chiefs captain Neil Tovey refused to make any predictions. “Derbies against Pirates are always full of excitement and are unpredictable. Luck will play its part. Let’s hope the ball rolls for us,” said the former Bafana Bafana skipper.
Dolezar said he watched the Pirates-Sundowns game and was very impressed with strikers Jerry Skhosana and new signing Sam Opara. “We will keep an eye on those players on Saturday. They are both good but wasted too many goal-scoring chances,” he addded.
SPORT BRIEFS
PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGSBOOSTED by their 4-2 win over strugling African Wanderers on Wednesday night, Bush Bucks are back on top of the log again. Jomo Cosmos beat Santos 1-0 in a closely contested Premiership game at Athlone Stadium on Wednesday night.
The latest Premier League standings under headings (played, won, draw, lost, goals for, against and points) are:
Bush Bucks 14 9 2 3 22 13 29
Sundowns 14 8 4 2 24 12 28
Kaizer Chiefs 13 7 4 2 19 12 25
Manning Rangers 12 7 3 2 21 12 24
Wits University 14 7 3 4 16 9 24
Vaal Professionals 14 5 6 3 13 10 21
Orlando Pirates 12 6 2 4 19 16 20
Cape Town Spurs 15 5 5 5 20 18 20
Jomo Cosmos 15 5 4 6 13 18 19
Hellenic 14 5 3 6 18 15 18
Supersport United 15 4 6 5 13 13 18
Qwa Qwa Stars 14 5 2 7 9 14 17
Bloemfontein Celtic 15 5 1 9 16 22 16
Moroka Swallows 14 4 4 6 11 17 16
AmaZulu 13 4 2 7 18 17 14
Real Rovers 15 3 5 7 14 18 14
African Wanderers 14 3 4 7 20 29 13
Santos 15 3 2 10 12 33 11
HEADLINE HERESOUTH AFRICA dropped to 35th place in the latest world soccer rankings released by Fifa on Wednesday. South Africa is the fourth-ranked African country after Morrocco (16), Zambia (20) and Tunisia (23).
AMANDA’S AWARDSSOUTH AFRICA’S Amanda Coetzer became the first player to win three awards in the world tennis awards in New York on Wednesday. She was selected by the media as the Most Improved Player, by the players for the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award and the tounaments for the Diamond ACES Award — which goes to the player who gives herself time to help promote the game worldwide.
NEW WP SIGNINGSWESTERN Province have signed Boland’s Harold Karele and Johnny Trytsman for next season.
BULLS MAKE A LOSSBLUE Bulls Rugby Union last night reported a R4,3 million loss for the year.