Pretoria Callies did not go back to Pretoria after their Motsepe Foundation Championship League game against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) that was played at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. They will only say goodbye to Thohoyandou after their next match, the one against Venda Football Academy (VFA) that will be played at the same venue on Saturday afternoon.
Things are not going according to plan in VFA's camp. They are fighting for survival in the third position from the bottom of the log with seven points, which they had accumulated from eight matches. VFA has thus far only managed to win two matches, share the spoils once and suffer five defeats.
The new head coach of the team, Mr Simo Dladla, is optimistic that his presence in the team will change the team's fortunes. Mr Dladla took over from Mr Michael Loftman, who guided the team in their first five games, from which they had managed to register only one victory and lost the rest of the matches. Mr Dladla has guided the team to a goalless draw against University of Pretoria FC in the only game where he was shouting instructions to the players from the team's technical bench.
Containing the strikers of VFA, Rhulani Manzini, Sedzani Mudau and Rotondwa Mutsivhuli, will not be an easy task for the Callies defenders. Samuel Darpoh and the team's diminutive playmaker, Kgotatso Mariba, will be expected to keep the fire burning in the middle of the park.
Just like VFA, Pretoria Callies are fighting for survival. They are languishing at the bottom of the log with five points that they have gained from nine matches.
Polokwane City and Baroka FC will fight for league points in their Polokwane derby at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. The other weekend fixtures are Platinum City Rovers vs Magesi FC, University of Pretoria FC vs Casric Stars and Cape Town All Stars vs MM Platinum FC.