DSTV Prem Weekend Review – Winners And Losers By OptaJabu

Every Monday, we make sense of the PSL weekend by bringing you a Winners & Losers column. Here, we share our statistical opinion on which teams have won the weekend, and which teams can take home the L. This week is no different, with Arthur Zwane leading the Winners section, while the champions feature in the Losers section. What a difference one week makes in football!!

Arthur Zwane – Winner

Can there be a finer feeling as a football coach than watching your team go down to 10 men, take the lead and then protect the 1-0 lead all the way to the end? That is what happened on Saturday night. If Arthur Zwane cut the figure of an embarrassed father just a week ago, he looked like a proud one after Chiefs held off a relentless Richards Bay attack to win their 2nd game of the season. Chiefs rarely lose against newly-promoted sides, with one reverse in 14 (and 2 on 21 going back to the first days of Stuart Baxter). On Saturday night, Yusuf Maart’s early red card meant Chiefs spent an hour protecting this proud record. Any other coach would have settled for a draw under these circumstances, but Arthur Zwane didn’t. In leaving the team unchanged from the red card, the coach showed full trust in his players’ ability to turn things around. Indeed, his first sub (Blom) was involved in the build-up to the goal as Chiefs reclaimed possession from Richards Bay before launching the attack that led to the penalty. Up stepped one of his new signings to coolly slot home.

6 – Six points is Kaizer Chiefs’ best return after four games of a PSL season since 2019/20 (10pts), and their second best return at this stage in the last six seasons.

Maritzburg’s Focus – Winner

They rarely make the Winners’ List but the Team of Choice deserve to be up here this week, based on their weekend performance. Particularly impressive was how the win came about. Post-lockdown and prior to this game, they had conceded the opening goal 39 times, and only won two of those matches. So when Chippa scored the opener, one would have feared the writing was on the wall. Instead, they equalised on the stroke of half-time and secured the winner on the stroke of full time to send their fans into a frenzy.

1 – This was John Maduka’s first win as Maritzburg coach.

AmaZulu’s Resilience – Winner

1-0 up. 2-1 down. 3-2 up. AmaZulu experienced all the emotions this past weekend. More importantly, their last emotion would have been one of exuberance. Did someone say optimism? Ten points from their opening four games are AmaZulu’s joint-best start at this stage of a top-flight PSL season (10pts from 4 also in 1998/99 under Clive Barker). They finished 14th that season, so that may still mean nothing. But there’s something Truter is doing right that has seen a return of three consecutive wins. For context, they have equalled their win total from the final 10 games of last season.

3 – AmaZulu have won 3 consecutive games for the first time since the 2020/21 season (April – May 20201 under McCarthy).

Sekhukhune – Winner

Coming into this, Kaitano Tembo had won just two games as a coach against Sundowns (D3 L6), while Sekhukhune had never scored against Sundowns, let alone pick up a point. A first goal and a first point against the champions are noteworthy

Royal AM and Late Goals- Winner

They drew on the day, but it was thanks to another late goal.

21 – Royal AM scored 21 goals in the final 15-minutes of matches since the start of last season, more than any other side.

Marumo Gallants – Loser

We’re adding the team (not the coach) as a loser because Romain Folz is still new to the league. Having said that, the youngest coach in the PSL may age a few years if things continue as they are. Twice they took the lead against Royal AM, and twice they gave it away, wasting the opportunity to end a winless run that has now entered its 13th game. Gallants are winless in 13 league games (since 6 March), the only top-flight side without a win in that period. They are just the sixth side in PSL history to draw each of their opening four games of a season (also Highlands Park 18-19, Chiefs 06-07, Ajax 06-07, Arrows 00-01 & Tembisa Classic 00-01). While they have company here, they may soon find themselves setting a new PSL-era record.

7 – Including last season, Gallants have drawn each of their last seven games, equalling the PSL record for consecutive draws by a side. They need one more to set a new record.

The PSL and 0-0 Draws – Loser

Seven games have ended 0-0 in the league this season, the joint-most goalless draws at this stage of a PSL campaign (also 7 last season after 34 games). When you remember that last season set a new record for goalless draws (45), one starts to get worried.

Sundowns – Loser

Seven points from four games is the lowest points total under the coaching trio. Make no mistake, that tally is still a luxury for the majority of the league, but the hot & cold nature of Sundowns may concern some. Downs haven’t won three league games in a row this year, and such “inconsistency” may open the door to potential challengers.

Pirates – Loser

While Sundowns are dropping points, the failure of sides like Orlando Pirates to take advantage is alarming. For the second week running, the champions dropped points, and Pirates followed suit. The window of opportunity often closes very fast.

8 – Pirates have eight points from 5 games this season (W2 D2 L1), the exact same record at this stage in two of the last three seasons.