Smiso Msomi
The unpredictable 2023/24 Premiership season is expected to endure more twists and turns tonight as the KwaZulu-Natal-based clubs go on the hunt for much-needed points in the league.
Golden Arrows, who have found a new lease of life under the returning Steve Komphela, will welcome CAF Champions League-chasing SuperSport United to Hammarsdale. The arrival of Komphela has also seen Arrows captain Nduduzo Sibiya rediscover his form, with the 28-year-old registering two goals and an assist in the last two games.
Abafana Bes’thende and Matsatsantsa will kick off at 7.30pm at the Mpumalanga Stadium, at the same time Royal AM begin their crunch battle against TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium.
Back-to-back wins against Polokwane City and Richards Bay have revived Arrows’ top-three ambitions as they sit four points off Sekhukhune United, and CAF Confederation Cup qualification, in third.
The competitive nature of the Premiership this campaign sees just six points separating eighth-placed Arrows from second-placed Stellenbosch FC at this point.
United’s head coach Gavin Hunt has been honest about their desire to return to continental competition next season, which adds further impetus to the match between the two sides tonight.
Previous clashes between Arrows and SuperSport have not disappointed in terms of enthralling action, with the last five games seeing one side claim the honours. A total of 18 goals have also been scored in that five-game period with Abafana Bes’thende claiming three wins to Matsatsantsa’s two.
After claiming their first win in 2024 against Richards Bay in the Nedbank Cup last time out, SuperSport will look to kick on in their attempts to reclaim second spot in the league.
Following a tough first half of the season with their CAF commitments, Hunt will have welcomed the three-week break from action that allowed his side to refresh.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga is buzzing given TS Galaxy’s start to the second round of the season, with head coach Sead Ramovic having guided his side to four wins, a draw and a loss in the six games they’ve played in all competitions so far this year.
The Rockets have not only sealed passage to the quarter-finals of the Nedbank Cup but also sit just a point outside the top eight, with two games in hand over all their current rivals for a place in next season’s MTN8.
Serbian-born striker Samir Nurkovic is expected to be the most fired up for the Rockets’ meeting with Thwihli Thwahla after his ‘distasteful’ exit from the Pietermaritzburg-based club.
The 31-year-old striker has scored six goals in 12 appearances this season and will look to add to that against Royal AM.
Thwihli Thwahla’s relegation worries seem to have eased since the turn of the year but defeat to Stellenbosch last time out has John Maduka’s team searching for another valuable win on the road.
Maduka’s men will hope history will favour them once again against the Rockets, having lost just once in their previous seven top-flight encounters.
That solitary loss, in 2021, came via a lone strike by winger Lindokuhle Mbatha, who is still in the Rockets’ camp at the age of 38 and remains one of Ramovic’s most important players.
Royal AM have one of the worst defensive records in the division. Thwihli Thwahla have shipped in 27 goals in 20 games this season, with only relegation zone-based Cape Town Spurs and Richards Bay poorer defensively.