Another disappointing weekend for Kaizer Chiefs, as they suffered another loss to Golden Arrows. Fouth-place Richards also felt defeat, Mamelodi Sundowns won away from home 3-1 and are still on top of the Dstv Premiership. Once again, we dive into the weekend’s winners and losers.

Winners

Knox Motizwa an all ronder – Winners

You get Peter Shalulile, but he is a renowned fox in the box. You get Bradley Grobler, but he is purely a finisher, with only one assist in the league this season. There is Godspower Ighodaro. There is Caleb Bimenyimana. There is Djakarija Traore. Even if they are not scoring 20 goals a season, the Premier League is awash with decent strikers. When it comes to all-rounders, Monnapule Saleng and Cassius Mailula are already being talked up as potential Players of the Season, but they are more on the creative side.

Then, there is Knox Mutizwa, a long-known striker that seems to be reinventing himself into an all-rounder, finishing the supply he receives as much as he is creating for his teammates. We could focus on his goal-scoring alone, which is already showing positive signs of improvement. Not only has Knox scored more goals in the league than any other player this year, he’s already exceeded his total from last year (4), and we’re only in February.

By many measures, he is the in-form player in the league right now:

• First nine games of the season: 1 goal contribution (0G 1A)
• Next nine games of the season: 10 goal contributions (6G 4A)

Make no mistake, this praise for Mutizwa is not related only to his purple patch. There are some players that we take for granted, even if their scoring record is better than  some players local football has christened as “legends”. We feel Knox is one of those underappreciated players.

He’s already Arrows’ all-time goalscorer by a mile, and has paid off whatever his club paid to Wits (and Highlanders) to secure his services. His worth to the club is undeniable. But in a tight season where teams in 7th and 15th are separated by just 5 points, there is a case to be made that Arrows need his contributions now more than ever.

49 – Knox has scored 49 league goals for Golden Arrows, and needs one more to join an exclusive club of 8 players to have scored 50+ league goals for a single club.

We are witnessing a new bar being set.

Mamelodi Sundowns – Winner

9 – Sundowns needs just nine points to wrap up the title. That crushing sound you hear is Tlhopie Motsepe putting the champagne on the ice.

Brandon Truter Destroying Stereotypes – Winner

15 months ago, it felt like Truter was in danger of being stuck with the reputation of being a draw specialist. After all, 60% of his matches at Swallows ended in a draw. The mind has a tendency to remember the first impression, and the inevitable bad patch easily triggers what it first remembered. He only lasted 16 games at AmaZulu, but that “draw rate” was halved to 31%. That’s been further halved to 14% at Sekhukhune, so any “draw specialist” insult at this point is simply inexcusable irreverence.

16 – Only Sundowns (27) have won more points in the league since he joined Sekhukhune United (16).

Marumo Gallants – Winner

They are still bottom of the league table but are doing wonders in Cup competitions. This weekend, they became only the fourth PSL side to win a CAF tie away to opposition from DR Congo, after SuperSport United, Bloemfontein Celtic & Sundowns (twice).

4 – Gallants have won four games in a row in all competitions for the first time since Feb-March last year.

Cassius Mailula (aged 21) & Monnapule Salang (aged 24) – Winner

No one epitomises the hopes for the future of South African football quite like these two players. Not only are they both their club’s goal heroes, but they are leading the entire division for goal contributions. The league desperately needs new superstars, and they are stepping up to the mark.

17 – No player has been involved in more goals in all competitions this season than Mailula (17 – 12G 5A).

14 – Only Mailula (above) has been involved in more goals in all competitions this season than Saleng (14 – 9G 5A all comps).

Losers

Kaizer Chiefs – Losers

“We gave the game away, an easy game for me – look at the number of chances we created.” – Zwane after the defeat to Arrows.

The real worry is that this is a repeating pattern. Had this been a once-off occurrence, then Chiefs fans might have some reason to hold a smidgen of the belief that things could get better. Instead, the same keeps happening, and their season is now in danger of becoming worse. Orlando Pirates are up next in the derby, followed by two away trips to KZN. The league is already out of reach, so could be second place soon.

Richards Bay – Loser

The same 30-point mark considered enough for safety could also activate complacency. The Rich Boyz of Natal’s season has been built on a foundation of defensive solidity and clean sheets (remember Salim Magool head-to-head with Ronwen Williams at some point). That foundation is starting to shake. They have conceded the opening goal in three straight games, as many as their previous 17 games combined.

5 – Richards Bay have failed to win any of their last five games in all competitions (P5 W0 D2 L3 since 22 January).

Swallow’s Away Form – Loser

When they play their next away game, it will be exactly one year since they won an away game.