Grimm’s fairytales were more light-hearted — and probably more entertaining too — than the grim, goalless draw between Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows at a wind-swept Germiston Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It was, to be sure, another in the ongoing stream of mainly grinding, unimaginative and uninspiring games that have marked the start of the PSL season.
Most glaringly, the finishing of both teams again proved quite lamentable and only thunderous drives from Sundowns’ Gift Leremi in the first half and Lerato Chabangu in the second, which hammered against the woodwork, gave a degree of professional authority to the shooting
Sundowns, widely regarded as odds-on favourites to secure a third successive championship before the start of the season, now occupy 13th position on the log with a single point from their opening two fixtures and have yet to recapture the sporadic brilliance that marked their campaign during the 2006/07 season.
Most noticeably missing for the 10 000 crowd was the intuitive rapport between the injured Godfrey Sapula and Venezuelan international striker Jose Torrealba, who has thus far been reluctant to resume his career with Sundowns in spite of the weekend directive from Fifa that he remains registered on the Brazilians’ books.
With Sundowns more enterprising in the first half and Swallows in the second, a draw was the fairest result, even if the Birds at no stage provided the powerhouse shooting that emanated briefly from Leremi, Chabangu and Esrom Nyandoro.
Swallows, for their part, appeared to be robbed of what looked a clear-cut penalty in the 90th minute when recent Sundowns signing from Jomo Cosmos, Peter Lekgothoane, brought down Cecil Oerson with a tackle from behind that was more in keeping with that produced by a flanker on the rugby field.
With the seconds fast ticking away, however, it appeared that referee Daniel Bennett might have viewed excessive discretion as the better part of valour and ruled against penalising Sundowns.
In another game played on Sunday, Bloemfontein Celtic came from behind to beat Platinum Stars 2-1 in a well-balanced game at Olympia Park. The teams were level on one-all at half-time. — Sapa