Who Are The PSL Comeback Kings?

We all love a good comeback story; very few things feel as good as a sporting comeback. Even the best Hollywood sporting movies are driven by comebacks, especially from underdog teams. This past season, the PSL saw its fair share of come-from-behind victories, with a surprise team leading on that front. AmaZulu, Cape Town City, Chippa, and Stellenbosch are the only four teams to pick up 10+ points after trailing this season. Sundowns & Richards Bay only picked up one such point, for totally different reasons. Showing grit to come back from the jaws of defeat is a good trait to have, although it may raise questions on why a team consistently finds themselves on the back foot.

14 – AmaZulu won 14 points after falling behind this season, more than any other side.

Nine of these comeback points were won over 10 days in August, during matches against SuperSport, Cape Town City, and Swallows FC. The Swallows match stands out in that AmaZulu took the lead and relinquished it to trail 1-2 with 11 minutes to go. However, an own goal and a 90th-minute winner from Mbongeni Gumede helped complete the fightback. Yet, that was a warning of what was to come, as Usuthu failed to win any of the next 16 games where they trailed.

Historically, legendary managers Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt have been responsible for the best comeback seasons in PSL history. In the early 2000s, they set a standard that has been very hard to match, although a few teams have come close.

20 – Supersport 2001/02 side recovered 20 points after conceding first positions, led by Pitso Mosimane for most of the season.

Patrick Mayo (9 goals) and Abram Raselemane (7 goals) contributed the goals in a campaign that saw them finish an impressive second position, five points behind champions Santos. Four points came under Bruce Grobelaar, with the remaining 16 coming under Pitso Mosimane. The comeback wins may have been key in establishing him as a top-level coach – he’d stay at the club for the next 5 years.

20 – Moroka Swallows 2002/3 would equal that record for most points won by a team after conceding first, under Gavin Hunt.

They won fine and drew five after the opposition scored first, the most famous of those wins coming away to Orlando Pirates in February 2003. Pirates led the league going into this tie, with Moroka Swallows in second. Lesley Manyathela opened the scoring for the league leaders in the 40th minute, but two goals in the second half from Jabulani Mendu and Lucas Sebone turned the match on its head. Swallows narrowed the lead at the top to 1-point, but Pirates responded with a 12-game run in which they lost one game to wrap up the title.

Not So Good At Comebacks

Historically, some teams are simply not good at comebacks. What do 1996/97 Michau Warriors, 2002/03 Santos, 2003/04 Kaizer Chiefs, 2009/10 Golden Arrows, 2010/11 Supersport Utd and 2015/16 Jomo Cosmos have in common?

6 – These are the only six sides in PSL history that have finished a season without picking up a point when the opposition scores first.

Few will be surprised to see Michau Warriors in there, one of the worst teams in the history of professional football in South Africa. They conceded the opening goal 17 times in 1996/97 and did not recover a single point, losing every single time. To this day it remains a record for the number of games that a team conceded first in a single season without winning a point. Seeing Chiefs’ title-winning squad in there may raise an eyebrow, but it’s mostly because they didn’t trail that often in that campaign (only three times).

3 – Chiefs conceded the opening goal on three occasions in 2003/4, a record for the fewest times a team has conceded first in a PSL season.