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Baroka FC, racked by relegation, gave themselves a fighting chance while doing leading Kaizer Chiefs a huge favor by beating runner-up Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 at Dobsonville Stadium to prevent the defending champions from occupying the top of the classification.
Sundowns missed a glorious opportunity to open a three-point break atop the Premiership from Absa with two games remaining after the leading Chiefs were brought down by the same scoreboard by Bidvest Wits for a fatal blow to their league title aspirations. in the previous. match at the FNB stadium on a dramatic Sunday.
But Amakhosi was reportedly shot in the arm after Namibian international Ananias Gebhardt headed Baroka off a corner kick in the 20th minute and relegation-threatened Dylan Kerr’s attacks fought tooth and nail to hold off all three. crucial points.
The Sundowns remain tied at 53 points with the Chiefs, but remain in second place due to their lower goal difference.
The Brazilians will have to overcome the Chiefs by five clear goals, but they will have to work hard against the injured tigers in Polokwane City and Black Leopards, two clubs facing the relegation ax and whose fans hope their coaches have learned a thing or two from your provincial. rivals Baroka on how to stop the ball-playing Sundowns in their tracks.
Baroka moved three points away from automatic relegation before their meeting with fourth-placed SuperSport United on Wednesday and will have a lot to say in the fate of the league title when they face the Chiefs on the final day of Saturday.
Polokwane City are still rooted at the bottom after a goalless draw against Bloemfontein Celtic and the Clinton Larsen-coached team will have a mountain to climb in their remaining two matches against Sundowns and Wits.
All three Limpopo teams (Baroka, Leopards and Polokwane) are propping up the table and one of them is the bookmaker’s favorite to advance to the GladAfrica Championship next season.
But the province will still have three representatives in the Premiership if two of them manage to beat the relegation ax after Bidvest Wits was sold to a Limpopo businessman who changes the name of the 99-year-old club to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila FC (TTM) and moves out. it is north of its historic Johannesburg base to Thohoyandou.
Earlier in the day Swallows FC returned to the Premiership with a 3-0 win over TTM to reserve their place in the top flight before the start of the new season next month.
