2022/23 DStv Premiership
Matchday 26
12 April 2023
Matchday 26 in the
DStv Premiership gets underway early on Wednesday as Mamelodi Sundowns and Marumo Gallants are on continental duty this weekend.
Newly-crowned champions Sundowns will target a return to winning ways when they travel to Durban to take on Golden Arrows at the Princess Magogo Stadium.
The Brazilians have taken their foot off the gas since winning a record sixth straight title with seven games to spare after SuperSport United were held to a 1-1 draw by Chippa United on April 1.
Rulani Mokwena's side only claimed a point in each of their subsequent two outings, having played out to successive 0-0 draws against Cape Town City and Swallows last week.
Downs have now recorded just two wins from their last five matches, although they remain unbeaten in 19 games since losing 2-1 to Matsatsantsa on September 2.
Mokwena insisted he tried everything to break down the Dube Birds, having tweaked his formation and handed a debut to Moroccan defender Abdelmounaim Boutouil.
"It's never been easy to play Swallows, a tough one but we tried everything and it was unfortunate today," he said after the clash at the Dobsonville Stadium.
"I played formations, tried different things. [I'm] Very proud of the players, proud of their efforts, proud of their commitment and we tried. When we went to a back-three, it was a little bit better and then we tried to have Neo [Maema] inverted, we couldn't open it.
"AB [Abdelmounaim Boutouil] tried to open it, couldn't open it and then [we were] a little bit unlucky with one or two situations but very proud of the players, the application and effort - very good."
Abafana Bes'thende boosted their top-eight hopes with a 1-0 victory over Richards Bay last Saturday, which extended their unbeaten run to three matches.
A third win in five games has lifted Arrows up to seventh in the standings and they are tied on 32 points with Sekhukhune United (6th) and Royal AM (8th), while Cape Town City are just three points ahead of the trio in fifth place.
Meanwhile, Marumo Gallants will look to keep the momentum going when they welcome Chippa United to the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Dylan Kerr has done an outstanding job since taking over the reins from Dan Malesela, guiding Bahlabane Ba Ntwa to the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals and reviving their survival bid in the league.
Gallants battled back from behind to draw 1-1 with Kaizer Chiefs last weekend, which finally saw them climb off the foot of the table and go above Maritzburg United on goal difference.
It was a fifth game without defeat for Kerr's side, who find themselves just two points adrift of safety in 15th spot with five fixtures remaining in the season.
Kerr's assistant, Raymond Mdaka, has revealed the coaching staff made a concerted effort to shore up the defence as the team has goals in them after scoring in four of their last five top-flight encounters.
"What we tried to work on in these kind of situations is to make sure that you don't concede easily," Mdaka said. "You look at the defence that is there, we still have [Olivier] Toure, who got a fourth booking and is not here, we still have Lehlonoholo [Nonyane].
"So we tried to solidify at the back so that we can take chances going forward. At most if you cannot concede, chances are you can win the game."
The Chilli Boys are still searching for their first win under Kurt Lentjies after losing 2-0 to Orlando Pirates last Saturday.
Lentjies had overseen back-to-back 1-1 draws against Sekhukhune and SuperSport prior to that but the threat of relegation still looms for Chippa as they are just two points clear of Gallants in 14th place after going winless in their last six games.
DStv Premiership matchday 26 fixtures:
Wednesday, April 12
19h30: Golden Arrows v Mamelodi Sundowns
19h30: Marumo Gallants v Chippa United
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