Cape Town — Stellenbosch FC will be looking to bounce back from last week’s lopsided loss to Kaizer Chiefs when they face Golden Arrows in Friday’s Premiership clash at the Princess Magogo Stadium.
Chiefs’ 3-1 win on the back of three penalties has been a major talking point and experts have agreed that the spot kicks were justified. The penalty brouhaha overshadowed Stellenbosch’s underwhelming performance, despite a promising start that allowed them to open the scoring early in the match.
Stellenbosch will be hamstrung by the absence of defence kingpin Mogamad De Goede, who is serving a suspension after picking up a red card against Chiefs. The red card followed two yellow-card offences after he was blown up for fouls on Burundian striker Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana.
Coach Steve Barker will be forced to reshuffle his backline. It is likely he will move Fawaaz Basadien from left-back to central defence where he’ll play alongside Vusi Sibiya, who usually partners De Goede. Dean van Rooyen is also an option as a central defender, but he offers the team far more with his overlapping runs as an attacking option down the flank.
While De Goede enjoyed a fair bit of airtime for his indiscretions, Bassadien was also in the spotlight because his handball presented Chiefs with the second of their three penalties. Bassadien can atone for that costly error with a stout performance at the heart of Stellenbosch’s defence.
Former Baroka midfielder Nhlanhla Mgaga was one of the few Stellenbosch players to come away from the Chiefs match without damaging his reputation. He scored the team’s only goal in the defeat. He was however unlucky not to score another, after his header was cleared off the line.
Mgaga has become a regular fixture in the side and is improving with every outing.
Arrows have managed to turn their season around, and are unbeaten in their last two outings. Nduduzo Sibiya has been at the heart of the team’s resurgence and has a penchant for scoring goals when he stalks into the penalty area. Nduduzo has contributed three goals and one assist from his eight league appearances.
Overall, his main contribution has been goalmouth crosses which opposition defences have battled to deal with.
Stellenbosch will need to keep an eye on Velemseni Ndwandwe, Arrows’ speedy winger. He thrives in one-on-one situations out wide and then works his way into central positions. He has gone six games without scoring, but he has threatened many times in the striking zone of late.
“I could have scored in more games by now,” said Ndwandwe. “My stats aren’t good, but again in the past, I played many other positions, like in the midfield. As a result, I wasn’t getting into those dangerous areas to increase my chances of scoring.
“When I was younger, I also didn’t stick in the box like I do nowadays. I used to drop back a lot.”
Arrows’ co-coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi will be looking to register a fourth league win this season which will ensure that they end in the top half of the standings by the time the season has a break for the upcoming World Cup in November.
IOL Sport