Sundowns have the looks of a team that has had a good pre-season. They started the new campaign better than they did last season. The only goal they conceded was in the MTN8 knockout.
The question that Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and maybe SuperSport United must answer is: Do they have enough in the tank to stop what may become another one-horse race season? Downs have wasted no time in widening their lead at the top of the log standings, by winning all of their opening games so far. Chiefs and Pirates are already 11 points behind the defending champions.
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Pirates had two trophies (MTN8 and Nedbank cup) to show for their efforts last season. The last time the club won the league title was during Rud Krol’s tenure in Parktown. Pirates coach Jose Riveiro believes that he has assembled a strong team capable of challenging Sundowns.
“To see progress and winning trophies is what every coach wants. We need to consider Pirates as title contenders in every competition. It doesn’t mean we are going to win everything, but then it has to be our target“, Riveiro said during an interview with Robert Marawa recently.
KAIZER CHIEFS AND PIRATES TO PROVE THEMSELVES
Amakhosi should be feeling the pressure to do better this season. The team has now drifted far behind the likes of Sundowns and Orlando Pirates. They have not won a single trophy in over 8 seasons. Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki is optimistic that this season Chiefs will finally turn things around.
“We beefed up the squad with quality players. You can see that we did not make a mistake in bringing in the players into the team. The only thing we need to do now is to make sure they gel and understand that every game we play, has to be a win“, Ntseki after the game against Chippa.
It is not only Kaizer Chiefs that has to stop Sundown’s dominance. Pirates, SuperSport and maybe Cape Town City need to close the gap that has been widened by Sundowns too. Gavin Hunt and Eric Tinkler, who finished 3rd and fourth last season, will also be pushing to improve moving forward.
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