PSL Half-term Report: Part 1 Of 4

The PSL reached its halfway mark this past weekend, with the 120th game played on Saturday. With the Africa Cup of Nations approaching, teams will have an elongated break before they are next in action in domestic competition. We’ve crunched some numbers on the season so far, to bring you a half-term report for each team in a four-part series in alphabetical order. Part 1 features AmaZulu, Cape Town City, Cape Town Spurs, and Chippa United. Enjoy.

AmaZulu

Position: 7th

Top scorer all comps: Chidi Kwem & Serge Dion (7 goals)

The season started slowly for AmaZulu, who opened their campaign with three consecutive 0-0 draws. This made them only the second side in PSL history to open a season with three consecutive 0-0 draws (also 2015/16 Jomo Cosmos). That may have been a sign of things to come. AmaZulu have failed to score in eight league games this season, and no team has more blanks (Polokwane also 8). If that is filed under ‘Disappointing’, then at least their clean sheet record will go into the ‘Impressive’ files. Only Sundowns (10) have more clean sheets than Usuthu (8). They have scored in each of their last three league game, and that could be the template for improvement in the second half of the campaign.

6 – Just six players have scored for AmaZulu in the league this season, the second fewest number of scorers for any team (Swallows have 5).

Season rating so far: 5/10

Cape Town City

Position: 2nd

Top scorer (all comps): Khanyisa Mayo (7 goals)

If there is a team whose campaign can be classified as a season of two halves, then it is Eric Tinkler’s side. On 17 September away to AmaZulu, they were leading 2-1 going into injury time, but contrived to lose that game 3-2. This result ensured that they set a new club record for the longest losing run for them since they became a top-flight side. But things have improved a lot since then, notwithstanding an early exit in the Carling Cup. City flipped the script and went on a different type of club record – this time a six-game winning run between the end of September and the end of November. Indeed, in late November they even dethroned Sundowns briefly, spending the night at the top of the table for the first time since August 2017.

29 – 29 points from 16 games are Cape Town City’s best-ever total at this stage of the season.

Season rating so far: 6.5/10

Cape Town Spurs

Position: 16th

Top Scorer (all comps): Ashley Cupido: (3 goals)

There is no way of putting a filter on this – Cape Town Spurs are currently having a painful season. There is a possibility that this could be the worst season ever by a team in almost three decades of PSL history. With just one win in sixteen games, it’s as if a negative record awaits them every time they play. Historically, they have already set a record for the longest losing run of any PSL side from the start of a season and the lowest points total for a team at the halfway stage of a season. This season, they have the fewest goals scored, most goals conceded, and are the only team without an away win. What will be most painful for Cape Town Spurs fans is that they have been in commanding positions in some matches, only to give away the lead and drop points.

11 – Spurs have dropped 11 points in the league this season, more than any other side.

Season rating so far: 2/10

Chippa United

Position: 13th

Top scorer (all comps): Elmo Kambindu, Craig Martin (3 goals)

Last season at this stage, Chippa had 19 points, just one more than they have accumulated this term. They had a goal difference of -4 at this stage last season, as much as they have this season too. An early Cup exit was not on the script, but they can take solace in that they were eliminated by the eventual winners. The highlight of their season so far is an impressive 1-0 win over SuperSport, which temporarily put them in 4th place on the log. Yet, that remains the only instance where they have won consecutive games this season and the only time, they have done so this year. When one of your standout players is the goalkeeper, it tells its own story.

7 – Stanley Nwabili has seven clean sheets in the league this season – behind only Ronwen Williams (9) and Darren Keet (8).

Season rating so far: 4/10