Orlando Pirates coach Miluton Sredojevic believes that the premier league will be won by either of the top teams on the log which collect the most points from the so-called small sides.
He was talking to the media after receiving his Coach of the Month award for guiding Pirates recently to three wins out of four matches. The Buccaneers’ 3–1 win away at log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns was their highlight of the month, a result which also makes the team serious title contenders.
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“I can tell you that the so-called big teams have all surfaced [sic] at the top of the log and that tells you how strong the competition is up there, hence I believe whoever wins the league will have to collect most of those points from the so-called small teams,” he said.
Sundowns leads the pack with 39 points from 21 games and their nearest rival is Kaizer Chiefs with 34 from the same number of games. The Buccaneers are third on 33 having also played the same number of games.
High-riding Free State Stars are in fourth, level on points with Pirates but with a lesser goal difference and a rejuvenated Maritzburg United occupy fifth spot with on 31 points.
“There is no room for slip-ups anymore at the top,” said Sredojevic. “Lucky for Sundowns as they are already done with the so-called big teams. We [Pirates] still have a Soweto Derby coming up on 3 March and that is a tough one.”
Meanwhile, Siphesihle Ndlovu, the Maritzburg United midfielder, made history by becoming the first player of the team to collect a monthly award after being named Player of the Month for January.
His recognition comes after having impressed in all the five games in which he featured for the Team of Choice, as Maritzburg is known. The player, who is fondly known as Mbesuma to his teammates, said, “It is a great honour and all credit must go to my teammates without whom I would not be receiving the award. They play an instrumental role in my game and always push me to work even harder.”
Tiyani Mabunda became the second Mamelodi Sundowns player to win the Absa Premiership Goal of the Month award in the 2017/18 season, hot on the heels of Hlompho Kekana in November, as local football fans voted Mabunda’s strike against Bloemfontein Celtic as the best goal in December.
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Mabunda’s goal in Sundowns’ 4 –1 home win over Celtic was voted the best from a shortlist that also included his teammate’s Bangaly Soumahoro’s effort for Sundowns in their away win at Golden Arrows.
Mabunda, the former Black Leopards midfielder, found the bottom right corner of Celtic’s goal with a brilliantly-taken low strike from just outside the 18-yard box.
