Most teams affiliated with the Limpopo stream of the ABC Motsepe League will play their final first-round matches this weekend. Two matches will be played on Friday, one on Sunday and the remaining fixtures on Saturday.
Whether Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila FC (TTM) will have enough strength to stop Mukondeni Young Chiefs when they meet at Tshifulanani Stadium on Sunday remains a million-dollar question.
Young Chiefs must win the match to keep their title hopes alive after registering a 1-0 victory over Vondwe XI Bullets at the Makhado Show Grounds last Saturday. Beating TTM on Sunday will not be easy, as anything less than victory will put TTM’s future in the ABC Motsepe League in jeopardy.
TTM head coach Lucky Nelukau said the team’s focus was to avoid relegation after they were booted out of the Nedbank Cup by Orlando Pirates, who beat them 4-1 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban last Saturday.
TTM’s first-choice goalkeeper, Ndivhuwo Mawela, is expected to be the busiest player on the field on Sunday, as the Young Chiefs strikers are not easy to contain.
Young Chiefs will have to keep an eye on Zwanga Makhadi and Sithembiso Ngobe, or risk being punished.
Vondwe XI Bullets will host Mpheni Defenders at Makonde Stadium on Saturday. Mpheni Defenders are still unbeaten this season. Up The Bulls, as they are affectionately known, lead the stream with 25 points, six more than second-placed Tzaneen United.
Spirits are high in the Defenders’ camp following their 2-1 victory over Musina United at the Mpheni Grounds last Saturday.
The Tzaneen derby between Tzaneen United and Nkowankowa Continentals will be staged at Nkowankowa Stadium outside Tzaneen. The other fixtures are White Vultures vs Lebash Football Academy and The Dolphins vs Phalaborwa United.