Tell Neil Tovey that Wednesday night’s needle Premier League title race showdown against Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus is effectively worth six points and the Mamelodi Sundowns coach proclaims in a matter-of-fact manner: ”It’s worth more than that.”
And there is good reason for the dry sentiment that recalls the laconic comment of former Liverpool manager Bill Shankley that ”soccer is not a matter of life and death, it’s more important than that”.
Apart from providing the winning team with a decisive advantage in the intense championship battle at Loftus, Tovey is well aware that Sundowns have not beaten Chiefs in a PSL League game in five years.
”It’s a game we simply have to win,” says the Sundowns coach, ”and I believe we are well-equipped to achieve our objective in spite of the absence through injuries and suspensions of a couple of key players”.
Sundowns’ most telling absentee is probably tricky Venezualan striker Jose Torrealba, whose suspension as a result of a yellow-carding during the 1-0 defeat against Chiefs at FNB Stadium last week was brought about by an inexcusable blunder from referee Jerome Damon.
Sandile Ndlovu, in the process, is likely to be given the opportunity of cementing a position in the starting line-up.
But the player whom Sundowns will be hoping to make a greater impact than during a listless performance against Chiefs last week is the much-vaunted, but enigmatic Surprise Moriri. Chiefs, for their part, will be relying a good deal on tradition and character to off-set Sundowns’ wealth of talent.
But even after securing six valuable points from victories over Sundowns and Dynamos last week, Amakhosi coach Ernst Middendorp is under no illusions and has declared that any lessening of effort could be costly against a side with superior individual ability.
Eyeing the Sundowns-Chiefs match with more than passing interest will be Orlando Pirates, the third of the triumvirate currently in the forefront of the championship struggle, who will simultaneously be playing Silver Stars at Ellis Park.
With the reputation of being among the most tenacious fighter in the PSL, Stars slumped to their worst performance of the season while losing 4-0 to SuperSport United at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on Saturday.
There is the suspicion that Stars might only have suffered a momentary loss of form and Pirates, still under a cloud as a result of the death of brand manager Zodwa Khoza, could have their hands full securing three points.
Other PSL games on Wednesday: Free State Stars v Bush Bucks at Charles Mopeli Stadium; Jomo Cosmos v SuperSport United at Huntersfield Stadium; Ajax Cape Town v Classic at Athlone Stadium; Black Leopards v Santos at Thohoyandou; Dynamos v Bloemfontein Celtic at Giyani Stadium. – Sapa