PSL
Winners & Losers – PSL
The PSL reached its halfway point this past weekend and marked that with some spectacular matches.
Sundowns blew Orlando Pirates away in the top-of-the-table clash on Saturday.
There were surprise wins for Magesi over Cape Town City, and Richards Bay over high flying Polokwane City, while Kaizer Chiefs also enjoyed an important win away to Stellenbosch. Winners & Losers is a statistical review of the PSL weekend.
Winners
Sundowns
The departure of Rulani Mokwena followed by Manqoba Mngqithi a few months later prompted some whispers that the Sundowns’ era of dominance was coming to an end. For now, those will only remain whispers.
42 – Sundowns have now won 42 points from their 15 games this season, setting a new PSL record for points at the halfway stage of a 30-game season.
Sundowns’ Attack
On Saturday it was Matthews that bagged a brace. On Wednesday it was Shalulile’s turn. This weekend, it was Costa. Rayners is probably next. The firepower is noteworthy.
35 – Sundowns have scored 35 goals in 15 league games this season, also a new PSL record for goals at the halfway stage of a 30-game campaign.
Miguel Cardoso
If CAF football is the minimum aim for Kaizer Chiefs this season, then they have to win the games against teams directly in competition for those positions. They are on the right track.
2 – Chiefs have beaten Stellenbosch home and away in the league this season.
AmaZulu’s coaching duo
Rowan Human was the star of the show on the field, and has been one of the key players in the club’s change of fortunes.
23 – Only Sundowns (30) have won more points than AmaZulu since Arthur Zwane & Vusumuzi Vilakazi’s first game in charge.
Magesi
Magesi won their first league game since September 2024, ending a 12-game streak that was the longest winless run of any team this season (D5 L7). With uncertainties around Royal AM’s future, winning your home games may be enough for the others to survive.
Losers
Orlando Pirates
The title race is far from over, but Pirates need to manage their squad better in the second half of the season. TS Galaxy, Stellies, and Cape Town City have used the joint-fewest players in the league this season (26), and Pirates aren’t too far off.
27 – Pirates have used just 27 players this season (only 20 have been on the pitch for more than 100 minutes).
The Loftus pitch
Yes, Sundowns played on the same pitch. But even the Sundowns coach was quick to point out that a better pitch gives quality football. He went on to say that the groundsmen tried their best (credit to them), but one wonders if there was more that could be done for a game of this magnitude to be played on a better surface.
Cape Town City
A year that started so brightly with wins over Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs has teetered off in the last few weeks. City have won just one of their next six games, losing four. Defeat to Magesi is one thing, the nature of the defeat is another
0 – This was the first time since August 2022 that City had no shots on target in a league game (v Maritzburg then).