Kaizer Chiefs legend and former assistant coach Doctor Khumalo has questioned why Absa Premiership teams have left it so late in the season to show fighting spirit in the survival battle.
The former Bafana Bafana hinted that Maritzburg United’s recent mini-resurgence seemed to inspire other teams who are relegation threatened.
The Team of Choice remain rock-bottom on 20 points whereas Chippa United, Baroka and Free State Stars are above them on 24 points.
“What can one really say about last weekend’s league results? In the past couple of columns, we spoke about the tough competition in the three phases of the league, honours, top eight and relegation zone. From the look of things, it looks like we are in for surprises and that can only mean one thing: our game is growing,
“When Maritzburg United beat Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1 on Friday night, I thought they’re narrowing the gap between them and the teams above them in the relegation zone, only for all the teams, except for Free State Stars who had a funeral of Sinethemba Jantjie, may his soul rest in peace, this past weekend, to win their games and keep the status quo the same,” Said Khumalo
Baroka FC beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 and Chippa United beat AmaZulu 1-0, with both teams recording these important victories away from home.
“Teams are fighting really hard and we’ve been treated to some exciting football. Yes, the league title race has been intriguing, but the relegation zone seems to be even more interesting considering the fact that from position 11 down, no one can safely say they’re above water,” added Khumalo.