Who’s hot
It has been a patience game for Campbell at Club Brugge since his move to Belgium at the start of last season, but some minutes in the UEFA Champions League and more prominence in the first team lately are signs he has become more trusted. He came off the bench again in the weekend’s 2-1 home league win over Dender, but before that, he started and scored in the 6-1 Belgian Cup victory over lowly Eendracht Aalst Lede. Day by day, the 20-year-old is becoming more influential within the team.
The 20-year-old scored his first goal in South African football with an absolute stunner for Orlando Pirates against Mamelodi Sundowns in their 1-1 draw. There were murmurs of discontent when he was handed his first-ever league start in such a big fixture, but those soon turned to delight after his 25-yard volley flew into the top corner. It will be a contender for Goal of the Season at the end of the campaign. What a way to announce yourself.
Bafana Bafana left-back Kabini has his eye on a place in the Africa Cup of Nations squad and at the FIFA World Cup next year, and he continues to impress at Norwegian side Molde. He bagged two assists in the 4-2 victory over Rosenborg this weekend, one of the goals scored by 21-year-old Norwegian–South African Alwande Roaldsøy. The latter joined Molde this year after a spell in the academy of Italian Serie A side Atalanta, and this was his first goal.
The AmaKhosi claimed a scrappy 1-0 win at Durban City on Friday night and, by the end of the weekend, found themselves just three points off the top of the Betway Premiership table with a game in hand. Not since the 2019/20 season have Chiefs been in such a position, and this is their second-highest points haul after 10 games (19 points) in the last decade. Are things finally looking up at Naturena?
Nkota has taken to life in Saudi Arabia with ease and bagged another goal this weekend as he helped Al-Ettifaq secure a late 2-2 draw against Al-Hazm. It was a neat finish into the far corner as he showed the kind of composure that sets him apart from many South African players, who tend to snatch at chances. He always looks as though he has more time on the ball than anyone else. On the other side was Bafana’s forgotten man Elias Mokwana, who grabbed an assist for Al-Hazm.
Who’s not
A draw with Orlando Pirates is not the worst result for coach Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi Sundowns, but there continues to be something unconvincing about his side this season. It is not a lack of talent or even coaching experience, but for whatever reason, they are failing to reach the heights of previous years. That was also true at the end of last season when they were stunned in the final of the CAF Champions League by Pyramids FC. The clock may be ticking for the Portuguese coach.
The decline of Stellenbosch FC continues this season as they suffered yet another Betway Premiership loss at TS Galaxy, their sixth defeat in 11 matches this campaign. They have gone from a side that finished in the top four in recent seasons to one that is now only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. It is still early in the campaign and much can change, but their form, which also included a 4-0 loss to Marumo Gallants in the Carling Knockout last week, is alarming.
Even worse off are Chippa United, who are already onto their third coach just 11 games into the league campaign after suffering a humbling 3-0 home defeat to AmaZulu. They are a side that has flirted with relegation for much of their existence, so this is hardly a surprise, but the wheels appear to have come off completely this season, and you wonder where they go from here.
Coach Eric Tinkler’s Sekhukhune United started the season like a freight train careering down the tracks at a million miles an hour but suffered their third defeat in as many games at the weekend, putting the brakes on their progress. This time it was a 1-0 loss at struggling Siwelele, a game you would have bet good money on them to at least draw. There is a long history of this in Tinkler’s career, patches where his sides simply cannot pick up points for love nor money. It remains to be seen whether he can arrest the rot this time around.
