Kruger United within touching distance of R50m PSL promised land

Kruger United are aggressively knocking on the door of the Betway Premiership, while PSL top-flight teams such as Orbit College, Marumo Gallants, and Magesi FC risk relegation and losing their R50 million value.

Kruger have been on a phenomenal roll in the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) over the last few weeks, winning six games on the trot to climb to the top of the standings with 52 points — five ahead of second-placed Cape Town City.

Kruger’s ascension has not been a fluke, highlighted by their recent victory against fellow challengers City. They are expected to carry this momentum right through to the last day of the season. The promotion of Kruger to the elite division would be widely welcomed, particularly as they are only three years old and are in their second season in the professional set-up after being promoted in 2024 from the third tier.

The people of Mpumalanga would be thrilled, as they would then have two teams in the top flight alongside TS Galaxy, who have already won a trophy and are in this season's Nedbank Cup final.

The resurgence of Kruger is driving the MFC title race, requiring City, Hungry Lions, and Casric Stars to be at their best in the last five games of the season to finish second and third, securing a promotion play-off spot.

While the promotion race heats up the second-tier division, Orbit, Gallants, and Magesi still stand a chance of completely avoiding the relegation quagmire by finishing 14th or higher. At the moment, Magesi holds that precious 14th spot. Their turnaround was inspired by an impressive 5-2 win over Durban City in their last game, lifting them off the foot of the standings.

Prior to that possible lifeline, Dikela Tsa Meetse looked "dead and buried" at the foot of the log, with coach Allan Freese admitting he was running out of solutions while trying to fix their defence.

Magesi will be eager to continue their turnaround by steering themselves into calmer waters when they meet a beleaguered TS Galaxy — who have lost nine and drawn one of their last 10 games — at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday afternoon (3pm).

Meanwhile, Gallants, who were drawn into the relegation quagmire after sacking coach Alexandre Lafitte and replacing him with Jamil Benouahi due to a poor run of form, are eager to find some momentum in their last few matches.

Benouahi, who recently started his tenure with a goalless draw against arch-rivals Siwelele, will seek his first win when they visit a coach-less Sekhukhune United at New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday afternoon (5.30pm).

Largely, the onus is on Orbit to ensure they secure maximum points in their next league clash against Durban City at Chatsworth Stadium on Friday night (7.30pm). Failure to do so would drag them closer to the second-tier division after just one season in the top flight.