Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs reignited the Absa Premiership title race with vital wins on Wednesday night.
However, Downs’ straight talking Bulgarian coach Hristo Stoichkov fired a broadside at the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for staging three matches per week for the last six weeks in a bid to give Bafana Bafana head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira three months to prepare his squad for June’s World Cup on home soil.
Golden Arrows assisted in opening up the title race when they defeated leaders and defending champions SuperSport United 1-0 in their midweek clash at Chatsworth Stadium.
Chiefs, Downs and Santos are bracketed on 38 points, with Chiefs having played 22 matches — one more than both Downs and Santos — while SuperSport have 44 points, also from 22 games.
Downs defeated Maritzburg United 1-0 at the Super Stadium in Pretoria and Chiefs scored a last gasp 2-1 win over Ajax Cape Town across town at Loftus on Wednesday to keep the pressure on the defending champions. But the last two rounds of fixtures for 2009 could go a long way in deciding the championship.
Chiefs and Downs lock horns in a battle of the challengers at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday at 3.30pm. United play second bottom Mpumalanga Black Aces at Loftus on Saturday night (8.15pm).
But the crunch game is the Pretoria Derby between Downs and United at Loftus on Tuesday night at 7.30pm.
Stoichkov, the former Barcelona European Champions Cup winner and Bulgarian superstar, lashed out at the fixtures that have seen teams playing three times a week in order to finish the season on February 28.
”The PSL is disrespecting the clubs, the players and the supporters by making us play three games a week,” Stoichkov said.
”I played for 20 years in Europe and I never in my career had to put up with this type of nonsense. There are too many games. The players are exhausted.”
The Downs coach also slammed the fact his side playing SuperSport next Tuesday.
”We should be playing Santos on Tuesday as that match comes first,” he said.
”It was rained out two weeks ago and we should be playing it before SuperSport. That game was also washed out but only after Santos.
”I simply do not understand how the PSL arranges their fixtures.”
PSL media manager Altaaf Kazi said there was nothing in the PSL rules indicating how the league reschedules postponed matches.
”We had to play the Sundowns-SuperSport game next week because SuperSport are involved in the African Champions League in 2010 which means that we would have battled to slot that game in before the end of February,” Kazi said.
Stoichkov was happy with his side’s 1-0 win over Maritzburg but said his players would have to pick themselves up to face fellow challengers Chiefs.
He also declined to confirm whether or not his new signing from Ajax, winger Franklyn Cale, would be involved in the game against Amakhosi.
”It is tough on everyone playing like this, but this is a big game and we will be ready when we get to Durban,” Stoichkov said.
”I was happy with the win against Maritzburg. We fell away in the second half but the players are fatigued.
”The fact that we won is good, not the score. The three points are what is important.”
Chiefs striker Nkosinathi Nhleko said the showdown against Downs would be crucial to Amakhosi’s title hopes.
”We had three matches remaining [before Wednesday’s game] before the end of 2009 and the target was nine points, so we are on track,” Nhleko said.
”But we realise that the Sundowns match will be special and whoever wins that game will take a huge psychological advantage into the last leg of the title race.”
Santos end their 2009 programme when they host Orlando Pirates at the Athlone Stadium on Friday night (8pm).
Other weekend fixtures will see struggling BidVest Wits entertain Arrows at Milpark on Saturday at 8pm and Platinum Stars playing Free State Stars at the Moruleng Stadium (8.15pm) in Saturday’s other match.
On Sunday Maritzburg play Moroka Swallows at the Woodburn Stadium after the Birds were hammered 4-0 in Dobsonville by AmaZulu on Wednesday.
Usuthu will hope to hold that form when they host bottom club Jomo Cosmos at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and in Sunday’s other fixture Celtic will be out to make amends after a 5-2 drubbing by Platinum Stars on Wednesday when they play Ajax at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium. All matches on Sunday kick off at 3.30pm. — Sapa