Supersport return to league action
SuperSport United welcome Golden Arrows to the Mbombela Stadium in
Nelspruit on Tuesday evening, as they set themselves for Absa
Premiership action for the first time this month.
Kick-off is at 7:30pm CAT.
Matsatsantsa were last in league action on September 19 - when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Chippa United - with domestic and continental cup action making for a busy period for the club from South Africa’s capital.
Eric Tinkler’s troops have since gone on to lift the MTN8 title, book their place in the 2017 CAF Confederations Cup final and suffer defeat in the first round of this season’s Telkom Knockout Cup. The Pretoria side going down on penalties away to Bloemfontein Celtic this past weekend.
Arrows, who lost 1-0 to Orlando Pirates in the TKO on Saturday, remain unbeaten in the league this season, , as a last-gasp goal from Thomas Chideu earned them a 2-2 draw at home to Polokwane City. The KwaZulu-Natal club has now played to four successive draws and six overall this season.
Abafana Bes’thende have performed strongly away from home this term, picking up nine points from their five matches on the road. Head coach Clinton Larsen, though, will be hoping a return to winning ways is on the cards as they set their sights on top spot.
Last season SuperSport United took four points off of Arrows by playing to a 1-1 draw in Durban in the first half of the campaign before claiming a 5-2 victory in the return fixture. The teams’ 32 league meetings have produced 89 league goals down the years.
Predicted Starting 11:
SuperSport United: Williams; Nhlapo, Gould, Daniels, Modiba - Furman, Myeni, Letsholonyane, Phala, Brockie, Grobler.
Golden Arrows: Gumede; Dube, Nkombelo, Mngwengwe, Mzava, Magubane, Bilankulu, Shongwe, Mahachi, Mutizwa, Lamola.
Head-to-Head Statistics:
LAST 10 LEAGUE RESULTS
Season Result Scorers
2011/12 SuperSport 2-1 Arrows Nyondo, Niang; Mashego
2011/12 Arrows 1-2 SuperSport Mashego; Gould, Hartog
2012/13 SuperSport 2-2 Arrows Cale, Diouf; Hadebe, Smith
2012/13 Arrows 0-1 SuperSport Doutie
2013/14 SuperSport 3-1 Arrows Chenene, Grobler, Mathebula; Shange
2013/14 Arrows 1-0 SuperSport Ntuli
2015/16 SuperSport 1-2 Arrows Nkhatha; Mathiane, Mahachi
2015/16 Arrows 0-3 SuperSport Wome, Nkhatha (pen), Brockie
2016/17 Arrows 1-1 SuperSport Bilankulu; Nkhatha
2016/17 SuperSport 5-2 Arrows Letsholonyane, Phala, Msowoya (og), Alexander, Gould; Mahachi, Lamola
LEAGUE RECORD (since 2000/01)
Home
P W D L GF GA
SuperSport 16 9 3 4 34 19
Arrows 16 5 3 8 15 21
Away
P W D L GF GA
SuperSport 16 8 3 5 21 15
Arrows 16 4 3 9 19 34
Total
P W D L GF GA
SuperSport 32 17 6 9 55 34
Arrows 32 9 6 17 34 55
What They Said:
SuperSport United defender Aubrey Modiba:
“We are coming up against a very good team [in Arrows]. They have done really well in the league so far and play with a lot of pace. They too will be motivated to get back to winning ways following defeat in the TKO this [past] weekend,” he said
“We know that it is very important for us to win tomorrow because we are well aware that catch up games are not guaranteed points. We’ve put the Celtic game behind us and we are fully focussed on the next challenge.”
Golden Arrows head coach Clinton Larsen:
"I'm very happy with the effort the boys gave in the game against Orlando Pirates [despite the defeat]. We may have not got the result, but once again the boys have proven that we are no pushovers, we can compete with the best teams in the league," he said.
"That is what we are trying to achieve as we now turn our focus to SuperSport - another top team and tough encounter."
Key Players:
The threat of Jeremy Brockie and Reneilwe Letsholonyane is well documented, while Morgan Gould and Clayton Daniels have impressed in defence. But, the duo of Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba have really caught the eye.
The young pair have really put their hands up of late with Modiba’s versatility and threat from deep a real asset to the Pretoria club. With Mokoena ruled out due to suspension, added creative pressure will fall on Modiba with the former Mpumalanga Black Aces star more than capable of filling in at a more attacking position as opposed to at fullback.
As for the visitors, there is no doubt that Kudakwashe Mahachi makes them tick with his pace and trickery set to test what is a solid SuperSport defence. Limbikani Mzava has also impressed for the KZN side and he will be hoping to keep the likes of Brockie under wraps in Nelspruit.
Kick-off is at 7:30pm CAT.
Matsatsantsa were last in league action on September 19 - when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Chippa United - with domestic and continental cup action making for a busy period for the club from South Africa’s capital.
Eric Tinkler’s troops have since gone on to lift the MTN8 title, book their place in the 2017 CAF Confederations Cup final and suffer defeat in the first round of this season’s Telkom Knockout Cup. The Pretoria side going down on penalties away to Bloemfontein Celtic this past weekend.
Arrows, who lost 1-0 to Orlando Pirates in the TKO on Saturday, remain unbeaten in the league this season, , as a last-gasp goal from Thomas Chideu earned them a 2-2 draw at home to Polokwane City. The KwaZulu-Natal club has now played to four successive draws and six overall this season.
Abafana Bes’thende have performed strongly away from home this term, picking up nine points from their five matches on the road. Head coach Clinton Larsen, though, will be hoping a return to winning ways is on the cards as they set their sights on top spot.
Last season SuperSport United took four points off of Arrows by playing to a 1-1 draw in Durban in the first half of the campaign before claiming a 5-2 victory in the return fixture. The teams’ 32 league meetings have produced 89 league goals down the years.
Predicted Starting 11:
SuperSport United: Williams; Nhlapo, Gould, Daniels, Modiba - Furman, Myeni, Letsholonyane, Phala, Brockie, Grobler.
Golden Arrows: Gumede; Dube, Nkombelo, Mngwengwe, Mzava, Magubane, Bilankulu, Shongwe, Mahachi, Mutizwa, Lamola.
Head-to-Head Statistics:
LAST 10 LEAGUE RESULTS
Season Result Scorers
2011/12 SuperSport 2-1 Arrows Nyondo, Niang; Mashego
2011/12 Arrows 1-2 SuperSport Mashego; Gould, Hartog
2012/13 SuperSport 2-2 Arrows Cale, Diouf; Hadebe, Smith
2012/13 Arrows 0-1 SuperSport Doutie
2013/14 SuperSport 3-1 Arrows Chenene, Grobler, Mathebula; Shange
2013/14 Arrows 1-0 SuperSport Ntuli
2015/16 SuperSport 1-2 Arrows Nkhatha; Mathiane, Mahachi
2015/16 Arrows 0-3 SuperSport Wome, Nkhatha (pen), Brockie
2016/17 Arrows 1-1 SuperSport Bilankulu; Nkhatha
2016/17 SuperSport 5-2 Arrows Letsholonyane, Phala, Msowoya (og), Alexander, Gould; Mahachi, Lamola
LEAGUE RECORD (since 2000/01)
Home
P W D L GF GA
SuperSport 16 9 3 4 34 19
Arrows 16 5 3 8 15 21
Away
P W D L GF GA
SuperSport 16 8 3 5 21 15
Arrows 16 4 3 9 19 34
Total
P W D L GF GA
SuperSport 32 17 6 9 55 34
Arrows 32 9 6 17 34 55
What They Said:
“We are coming up against a very good team [in Arrows]. They have done really well in the league so far and play with a lot of pace. They too will be motivated to get back to winning ways following defeat in the TKO this [past] weekend,” he said
“We know that it is very important for us to win tomorrow because we are well aware that catch up games are not guaranteed points. We’ve put the Celtic game behind us and we are fully focussed on the next challenge.”
Golden Arrows head coach Clinton Larsen:
"I'm very happy with the effort the boys gave in the game against Orlando Pirates [despite the defeat]. We may have not got the result, but once again the boys have proven that we are no pushovers, we can compete with the best teams in the league," he said.
"That is what we are trying to achieve as we now turn our focus to SuperSport - another top team and tough encounter."
Key Players:
The threat of Jeremy Brockie and Reneilwe Letsholonyane is well documented, while Morgan Gould and Clayton Daniels have impressed in defence. But, the duo of Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba have really caught the eye.
The young pair have really put their hands up of late with Modiba’s versatility and threat from deep a real asset to the Pretoria club. With Mokoena ruled out due to suspension, added creative pressure will fall on Modiba with the former Mpumalanga Black Aces star more than capable of filling in at a more attacking position as opposed to at fullback.
As for the visitors, there is no doubt that Kudakwashe Mahachi makes them tick with his pace and trickery set to test what is a solid SuperSport defence. Limbikani Mzava has also impressed for the KZN side and he will be hoping to keep the likes of Brockie under wraps in Nelspruit.
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