Rocky start with media for new coach

"I am not interested in talking to the newspapers. You guys are all the same, and I would rather talk to the television people."

That was the irate response from new Santos coach David Bright when approached for comment ahead of Sunday's plum Absa Premiership clash with title-chasing Orlando Pirates at Athlone Stadium (kick-off: 3.30pm).

The Santos coach, whose team had a super 4-1 win over Moroka Swallows on Wednesday night, is apparently irate about an article that appeared in the press, and so has opted to distance himself from all members of the print media. That's not exactly a bright start bright start (pun intended) to his relationship with the Cape press.

Anyway, all that is rather petty, so let's get on with the game of football - and what a match in prospect on Sunday!

Pirates are in celebratory mood courtesy of their 70th birthday bash earlier this week.

The Soweto club have had a perfect start to the second round, including hammerings of top guns like Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Owen da Gama's charges are on fire and will no doubt take on Santos with attacking flair in abundance, spearheaded by new boy Gilbert Mushangazhilke and rising star Excellent Walaza. This speedy duo will again be backed up by Bennet Chenene, the midfield genius with the sweet left foot.

Mushangazhike is a seasoned marksman, having plied his trade in China in recent years following a free-scoring stint with then top side Manning Rangers.

Mushangazhike, who has already bagged two goals from his first three starts for the Buccaneers, looms as the biggest threat to a Santos defence not known to be without faults in front of goalkeeper Wayne Roberts.

Walaza is the jack-in-the-box type, able to pop up when least expected to punish slackness in the rearguard.

Chenene is relied upon for his pin-point crosses, telling free kicks and corners and powerful shots at goal.

If there is a problem area for Pirates, it is in the last line of defence where 20-year-old Senzo Meyiwe has done relatively well in his first few months in the top flight, but does drop the occasional clanger.

Bright, once he stops fighting with the media, may want to alert his frontrunners to this possibility.

Santos will counter with a couple of in-form players, with the likes of Erwin Isaacs, Magogi Gabonamong and Thando Mngomeni bolstered by the non-stop running of Eleazar Rodgers.

Gabonamong is finally realising his attacking potential after having been limited to hatchet jobs by former coach Roger de Sa.

That the Botswana international is not (yet) among the players most highly rated by local opposition counts in his favour. For now the tall midfielder enjoys the element of surprise.

Do Santos have a weakness? Well, perhaps the back four's lapses of concentration at set pieces and Roberts's occasional fumbles of long-range shots.

So there's a great game in prospect, with history favouring Santos due of Pirates' indifferent showings in the Mother City in recent years.

Meanwhile, log leaders Ajax Cape Town are favoured to add Jomo Cosmos to their impressive list of conquests whey they meet in Johannesburg on Sunday.

While Ajax continue to enjoy a glut of goals after having lost star striker Terror Fanteni to Maccabi Haifa in Israel, the same cannot be said of Jomo Sono's strugglers who are currently rock bottom in the standings.

The Cape side will feel threatened, though, in that their hosts have been playing some delightful football minus the desired results up front.

A defiant Sono has promised a return to the higher rankings starting with Sunday's match, a point Ajax coach Craig Rosslee will no doubt drill into his players to avoid any complacency.

It's an intriguing encounter, with the robust play of Cosmos certainly good enough for at least a share of the spoils against a team sitting pretty at the summit of the elite league.

WEEKEND'S PREMIERSHIP FIXTURES

Saturday: Lamontville Golden Arrows v Moroka Swallows, Kaizer Chiefs v SuperSport United, Black Leopards v Free State Stars, Thanda Royal Zulu v Platinum Stars.

Sunday: Mamelodi Sundowns v Wits University, Bloemfontein Celtic v AmaZulu, Jomo Cosmos v Ajax Cape Town, Santos v Orlando Pirates (Athlone Stadium, 3.30pm).