Winners And Losers From The Weekend Action

Iqraam Rayners’ five-star showing was the highlight of a goals-laden Freedom Day weekend. Altogether 21 goals were scored in seven games, with all but one match seeing Over 1.5 goals. There were important wins for AmaZulu and Cape Town Spurs among others, while SuperSport and Cape Town City’s annus horribilis continued. Winners & Losers is our statistical weekly review of PSL action.

Winners

Iqraam Rayners

The list of players in PSL history who have scored five goals in a single league game now reads as follows.

1. James Chamanga (2007)
2. Iqraam Rayners (2024)

Rayners is no longer the big fish in a small team – he and the team have matured into one of the most exciting projects of recent times. The five-goal haul was special – after all, only one player had done that in nearly three decades. Forget the Golden Boot, the whispers for Player of The Season are starting to gain momentum. Rayners is not just a goalscorer, but a playmaker as well, in the top rankings for chances created for teammates and key passes.

1 – Iqraam Rayners’ hat-trick is the first ever for Stellies in the top-flight.

Steve Barker

A year or two ago the upcoming Nedbank Cup clash against Sundowns would have seen Stellies come in as the underdogs. But not this coming weekend. It shows how far Stellies have come since their promotion to the top-flight five years ago & Barker and co. should be given credit.

24 – Stellies are unbeaten in 24 games, the longest run of all top-flight sides.

Free-scoring Orlando Pirates

That’s 17 goals for April in just five games. This was the ninth occasion in which Orlando Pirates have scored 4+ goals in a game under Jose Riveiro. Only under Eric Tinkler have they done so on more occasions (10 times).

1.7 – Pirates average 1.7 goals a game this season, the club’s best ratio since 2004/05.

Sinoxolo Kwayiba

He may have ended up on the losing side, but Sinoxolo Kwayiba has taken his chances in the last few weeks.

5 – Kwayiba is only the second player in Chippa United’s top-flight history to score in four consecutive games, after Eva Nga in 2021 (a run of 5).

AmaZulu

Anything less than a top-half finish would be disappointing for a side that only a few years ago had ambitions to win the PSL title. This was a victory against their rivals for that spot – Chippa are currently in 9th. Fortunately for Usuthu (11th), they also play the teams in 8th and 10th before the end of the season. So, their fate is in their own hands.

2 – This is only the second time this season they came from a goal down to win a league game.

Losers

Cape Town City

That’s nine games in 2024 without a win. With their next game only coming in May, it means City will go into the final month of the season still looking for a first win of the year. What makes City’s abject form more remarkable is the fact that they were primed as a potential challenger to Sundowns when the season started.

0 – Cape Town City (P9 W0 D6 L3) and SuperSport (P9 W0 D6 L3) are the only sides yet to win a league game in 2024.

SuperSport United

You could copy and paste the above, and still be on the money. But also add the worrying statistic about the lack of clean sheets for Gavin Hunt’s side.

28 – Since a 3-0 win over Gaborone United in September 2023, SuperSport Utd have not kept a clean sheet in any of the next 28 games (all comps) – this is the club’s longest-ever run without a clean sheet in PSL history.

Sundowns

Out of the CAF Champions League at the same stage for the second year running. Losing on away goals would evoke sympathy but failing to score in 360 minutes at the highest level should evoke introspection on Sundowns’ part. Esperance deserved the victory, becoming the first side ever to beat Sundown’s home and away in a CAF two-legged knockout tie.

4 – This is the first time in CAF history that Sundowns have failed to score in four consecutive games in CAF competitions.

Opta Jabu