Soweto Derby Weekend Winners & Losers

Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 on the weekend, ensuring that the Soweto derby bragging rights belong to the black and white half of Soweto.

Meanwhile, Sundowns continued their march towards an eighth consecutive title by grabbing a comfortable 2-0 win over Cape Town City.

There were also important wins for SuperSport and Richards Bay that brought both teams closer to safety. Winners and Losers is a statistical recap of the weekend action.

Winners

Sundowns

The last seven games before this recent double-header saw Sundowns fail to win five. Yet a couple of those draws ensured they reached the Champions League final, a tournament where one needs more steel than style. Back home, Downs can just as easily turn on the style, and they have dismantled teams with ease all season.

54 – Sundowns have 54 goals from 24 league games this season, and are the first team in PSL history to get more than 50 after 24 games.

Iqraam Rayners

Two players have registered 20+ involvements all season, and both play for Sundowns. While Lucas Ribeiro has received praise for most of the season, Iqraam Rayners’ contributions have gone under the radar.

9 – Rayners has 9 assists to his name, and needs one more to become the first player this season to reach double figures for both goals and assists.

Orlando Pirates

Since their Champions League exit, the Pirates conversation has been the home of divided opinions, but it was united in jubilation at the weekend. The title window may have closed even further this weekend, but a derby win is still important for many reasons, including new records.

30 – Pirates have won 30 games this season (all comps) for the first time in PSL history.

Jose Riveiro

Jose Riveiro has now won five Soweto derby matches (all comps), equalling Stuart Baxter’s record as the coach with the most derby wins in the PSL era. He is also the first coach for either club to win more than three derbies consecutively, stretching that record to five. There is more.

2 – Riveiro is the first Pirates coach to complete more than one league double over the Chiefs.

Richards Bay

Playing with 10 men for nearly half an hour is a difficult task, but they navigated that quite well. Given their previous history in away games, this effort deserves a little more praise.

2 – This was only Richards Bay’s second away win of the season (P13 W2 D2 L9).

SuperSport United

Instead of battling for CAF positions as usual (or for a Top8 place at worst), Matsatsantsa are involved in relegation matters. The 2-0 win over Chippa would have helped their cause considerably.

Stellenbosch’s away form

Stellies have been hard to beat last season – only lost 5 games (as many as Pirates). And their away form has been exemplary, with Sundowns the only team with more points on the road,

2 – Stellies have lost just two away games all season, the fewest of all teams.

Losers

Cape Town City

City are running out of games to save their season. Two difficult games – away trip to Polokwane and a home derby against Stellenbosch remain as their last hope.

15 – City has lost 15 league games in a season for the first time in their PSL history.

Kaizer Chiefs

This was Chiefs’ 12th league defeat of the season – they’ve never lost more in a single campaign in PSL history (12 also in each of the last two seasons). One more defeat in their final two games, and this iteration of Chiefs sets an unwanted record.