LAMONTVILLE Golden Arrows will be looking at the likes of Nduduzo Sibiya and Knox Mutizwa to lead them to the top eight. BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
AFTER beating Kaizer Chiefs 2-0 last weekend, Lamontville Golden Arrows should surely believe they have no business losing to Chippa United as the two top eight-chasing sides meet in the Betway Premiership on Saturday, right?
But then again, arguments can be made that Chiefs is not the same mighty South African football kings they used to be, after all Arrows’ was their second loss after lowly Richards Bay dished them a 2-1 drubbing in their preceding league game.
Indeed, that very Chiefs is deep in the fight for a top eight spot with seven games remaining to end the season.
The fact though is that no matter which way one looks at it, the top eight battle is the most open one as far as the 2024/2025 Premiership season is concerned.
Any team from the third-placed Stellenbosch all the way to the 10th-positioned Arrows can still finish in or out of that bracket.
That is the case until one looks at the virus of inconsistency that haunts the Premiership, and so maybe leads to the exoneration of the likes of Stellenbosch and TS Galaxy (third and fourth with 35 points), Sekhukhune United and Polokwane City who both stand at sixth and fifth with 34 points respectively.
Arrows with coach Manqoba Mngqithi at the helm are starting to have the looks of a top eight kind of team.
Since his return to Arrows, Mngqithi has dueled for a total of 12 points.
He has collected seven out of the 12 - one draw, two wins and one loss - ironically, to a team one can also argue they had no business losing to since they are in the form of Magesi, who are battling relegation.
So, for Chippa, Arrows’ would be a big scalp to announce their intentions and top eight-required form after their two wins against Polokwane City and AmaZulu FC in the past two games.
The two sides have already met twice this season, with both encounters ending in defeat for the Durban outfit; they went down 2-0 in the reverse fixture on October 26 before being dumped out of the Nedbank Cup last 32 in January.
Arrows are not big scorers and that is something Chippa, who are armed with former Abafana Bes’thende coach in Mabhuti Khenyeza, will look to exploit.
Arrows only stand with Polokwane as the only two sides that have scored less than 20 goals among the top eight challengers.
Arrows have netted only 17 times while Polokwane has scored a measly 18 goals in 23 matches.
With Chippa themselves not so sharp in front of goal with their return of 21, fortune will favour anyone who dares to score in Mpumalanga.
Hammarsdale's Mpumalanga Stadium will host the 3pm kickoff.
