PSL Season Reviews: Part 4 – Teams S to Z

We’ve spent the last week reviewing the stand-out statistics for each team in the PSL. In an effort to shine a light on what actually happened for each team, we dove into some trends behind the data. We review every team in detail, hoping to (in most cases succeeding) find the unusual stats on each team from A to Z. Today, the final part of our series focuses on the final four teams.

Stellenbosch

Last season: 4th

This season: 6th

Points swing from last season: -7

Top scorer (all comps): Iqraam Rayners (15 goals)

Like many teams, Stellenbosch’s form was in contrast before and after Qatar. But to place much focus on the World Cup break would be an injustice to the decision made to bring Iqraam Rayners back into the fold in January. Even if he was a mid-season signing, there is a case to be made that he was the outstanding signing of the season. Together with Junior Mendita, the two formed a partnership that turned Stellies’ season around and brought them to the cusp of reaching the Nedbank Cup final.

The table below shows players who were involved in 15 or more goals in the league this season, and Steve Barker will count himself lucky to have two of them on his books. Some of Rayners’ contributions came while he was at SuperSport, but the back-to-back Player of the Month awards in March/April (a first in six years) proved the gamble to sign him paid off.

PSL MOST GOAL INVOLVEMENTS THIS SEASON  (LEAGUE)
Player	Team	Involvements	Breakdown
Monnapule Saleng	Pirates	19	11 + 8
Mendieta Junior	Stellenbosch	17	9 Goals + 8 assists
Iqram Rayners	Stellenbosch	16	9 + 7
Shalulile Peter	Sundowns	15	12 + 3

Yet, for all the attacking impetus they showed, they were pretty open defensively, managing the joint fewest clean sheets of any team (6). Their best attacking season (39 goals), was offset by their worst defensive season (38 goals conceded). Defensive reinforcements will likely be the priority in the next transfer window, to improve on this unique record.

10-10-10 – Like Sekhukhune, Stellies won 10, drew 10 and lost 10 of their games this season, the first time two teams ended with that ‘perfect’ 10-10-10 record in a single campaign.

Supersport Utd

Last season: 8th

This season: 3rd

Points swing from last season: +11

Top scorer (all comps): Bradley Grobler (10 goals)

Whereas many teams’ seasons can be broken down into 1st and second half, or before and after the World Cup, SuperSport don’t fall neatly into any of those categories. 27 points in the first half of the campaign, and 24 points in the second half is pretty symmetric. Gavin Hunt’s return inspired some spirited home performances, as Matsatsantsa completed a first-ever season without defeat at home. The 2-1 win over champions Sundowns in their third home game may have been a forerunner for things to come. While it didn’t exactly inspire a title challenge, it showed that teams would have to be extraordinary to win away there. None did.

But the home form is part of a bigger picture that saw improvements in many areas. Only Swallows (14-11) improved by more points from last season, with the same Swallows (7 places), climbing higher up the table than SuperSport (5 places). CAF qualification was just recompense, the first time they finished 3rd or higher since 2011/12 (also under Gavin Hunt). Nominations for Young Player of the Season, Goalkeeper of the Season & Coach of the Season are also noteworthy achievements, particularly for a side that gives so many minutes to youth.

1 – SuperSport were the only team to spend a night at the top & a night at the bottom of the league.

Swallows FC

Last season: 15th

This season: 8th

Points swing from last season: +14

Top scorer (all comps): Kagiso Malinga (6 goals)

After 10 games of the season, Swallows were bottom (P10 W2 D3 L5). They had lost the most games (5), conceded the most goals (16) and had only kept two clean sheets. Their late-season form will be remembered more fondly, culminating in a Coach of the Month award and second place in the Q4 standings. This late surge included a four-match winning run, the first time ever that the side won 4 league games in a row. But overall, their seasonal improvement has been staggering, although one may argue that the bar was set low last season when they finished second from bottom.

When considering the awards and how they managed to avoid that pressure at the foot of the table, it’s not outlandish to suggest they were the most improved team this season. The 14-point jump from last season is the biggest of all top-flight sides, and so is the move seven places up. At the core of this was their home record and penchant for feasting lower down the table. Swallows doubled their home points total from 12 last season to 24, and if picking off points off lower half teams to secure survival was a deliberate strategy, then it worked. Not only did they survive, but they also ended up in the Top 8.

70% – Swallows won 70% of points v bottom half-teams, the highest such proportion of all sides.

TS Galaxy

Last season: 13th

This season: 10th

Points swing from last season: +5

Top scorer (all comps): Djakaridja Traore (7 goals)

You’d expect a team’s highest-scoring season and lowest-conceding season to end with some significant rewards. But that was not the case for TS Galaxy, who actually beat Sundowns in the second game of the season back in August. In fact, their season started so well, they kept clean sheets in each of their 5 season-opening games, a feat previously achieved by only three PSL sides in history – 2003-04 Wits, 2009-10 Orlando Pirates & 2021-22 Sundowns. These sides built on that foundation and all finished in the Top 6 during those campaigns, namely 4th, 5th and 1st respectively.

Clean sheets without goals are akin to putting a short blanket on your knees – other parts of the body remain exposed. You get the drift – it’s not enough. At the halfway stage of the season, seven of TS Galaxy’s matches had ended 0-0, as they set a new record for the most goalless draws by a side at the half-way stage of a season in PSL history. In blowing either (very) hot or (very) cold in front of goals, they were never in serious form, nor were they ever a club in crisis. The Rockets never strung more than 2 wins at any point in the season, and never lost more than 2 at any point in the season, narrowly missing out on this unwanted record.

10 – Only 2007/08 Jomo Cosmos (11) have ended a season with more goalless draws than the 10 managed by TS Galaxy in this one.