This season’s premiership is becoming a fierce contest between teams based in Gauteng and the Western Cape. The northerners have had the upper hand in the past, winning five league titles (Sundowns three, Orlando Pirates two) while the Cape has won only once (Santos).
Gauteng-based teams seem set to continue their dominance this season, but the Cape challenge is strong. Kaizer Chiefs currently top the log, followed by two Cape teams, Ajax Cape Town and Santos, while Moroka Swallows, Wits University, Orlando Pirates, Supersport United and Black Leopards round out the top eight.
Supersport United were runners-up in both of the past two seasons, but seem to have fallen a bit off the pace recently. The resurgence of Swallows and Wits has seen them mount realistic challenges for the title, but they still seem unsure about whether to grab their opportunity or not.
That leaves Chiefs, who celebrated their 34th anniversary on Wednesday night with a 1-0 win over a dismal Hellenic. The league cup has been conspicuous by its absence from Chiefs’ extensive trophy cabinet for the past 11 years — the only piece of domestic silverware the club has not annexed during that period.
This weekend’s fixtures see the contenders beginning to sort themselves out from the pretenders.
Ajax Cape Town, under the astute tutelage of three-time championship-winning coach Gordon Igesund, face Black Leopards at Athlone stadium. To judge the magnitude of Ajax’s improvement, this time last season they were fighting relegation. Leopards, on the other hand, continue to try and just keep their league status.
On Saturday the first team to win the league title, Manning Rangers, play rookies Silver Stars, who are in danger of being one-season league wonders despite their impressive record in cup competitions. Rangers will be hoping to improve on recent performances after they had to come from behind to draw 2-2 with Sundowns at Chatsworth stadium last weekend.
The derby between Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows might no longer have the same cachet as that between Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, but the points on offer in this match are very important for both these Soweto clubs.
After a long period in the doldrums Swallows have been flying high again in the past two seasons and fighting for league honours, only to falter in the last few games.
For Pirates the game offers an opportunity to close the gap a little on their number one enemy, Chiefs. Both Pirates and Swallows are in great form and a win for either could be the tonic needed to start the second half of the season in the right fashion.
The first-round encounter between the two teams saw Pirates gain the upper hand by beating Swallows 1-0.
While the contest for the championship heats up between Gauteng and the Cape, that of avoiding relegation seems to belong to KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Province clubs, with the exception of league whipping boys Hellenic. The bottom four is made up of Hellenic, Silver Stars, Zulu Royals and Dynamos.
Zulu Royals take on Supersport on Sunday, and they should be aiming to avoid another heavy defeat after their 4-0 thumping at the hands of Chiefs last time out.
Ailing giants Sundowns, who play Cosmos, must be hoping that the changes they want to introduce in the second half of the season enable them to at least finish in the top eight, something they failed to do last season.