Five talking points from the weekend’s SA football action

Phillip Ndlondlo of Pirates shields the ball against Richards Bay at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. Picture: Thabang Lepule BackpagePix

Phillip Ndlondlo of Pirates shields the ball against Richards Bay at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. Picture: Thabang Lepule BackpagePix

Published Oct 10, 2022

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Johannesburg - It was another interesting weekend of South African football action, which saw Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns registering important wins , while Orlando Pirates and TS Galaxy had their struggles.

Here IOL Sport’s Smiso Msomi takes a look five talking points from the past weekend's football action in SA:

1. Hat-trick hero Bimenyimana becomes history-maker

Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana continued his rich goalscoring form as he almost single handedly romped through Stellenbosch FC to secure victory for Chiefs on Sunday, winning two and converting three flawless penalties, to hand Amakhosi a 3-1 win.

The Burundi international striker, who is now on six goals in his first four Premiership matches rewrote history as he became the first player in PSL history to score a hat-trick of penalties in a single game.

The towering centre forward also became the first ever Burundian striker to score a hat-trick in the league, further endearing himself to the Chiefs faithful.

2. Sundowns run riot in Champions League

League champions Mamelodi Sundowns took a huge step towards qualifying for the Caf Champions League group stage as they ran riot against lowly La Passe from the Seychelles in their preliminary qualification first leg encounter on Sunday.

The Brazilians scored seven answered goals in Pretoria, with new arrival Sipho Mbule grabbing his first for the club, as they travel to the Seychelles on Friday for the second leg with a more than a comfortable cushion.

3. Pirates continue to miss the mark in front of goal

Soweto giants Orlando Pirates, under the stewardship of new coach Jose Riveiro are going through a pretty “weird” spell at the moment, failing to find the perfect balance between a solid defensive and lethal attack.

The Buccaneers, although just four points off league-leaders Sundowns, are the third lowest scorers in the division and their 0-0 draw with Richards Bay at the weekend means they have now failed to find the back of the net in their last three matches in all competitions.

4. Gavin Hunt finally getting a tune out of Matsatsantsa

Following two torrid spells with Kaizer Chiefs and Chippa United, Gavin Hunt's return to SuperSport United was seen as the perfect opportunity for him to remind everyone why he has four league winners’ medals.

Ten games into the new season, Matsatsantsa are currently in third spot on the log, playing their best football in a while, and have been executing Hunt's plans to near perfection, winning four of their last five matches.

5. Spot-light on Bernard Parker as TS Galaxy go seven games without a goal

Veteran forward Bernard Parker was in the spotlight as he missed a second-half penalty as TS Galaxy drew 0-0 with a struggling Swallows FC on Saturday, subjecting the Rockets to an unwanted record of seven matches without scoring a goal, their last one coming two months ago against SuperSport.

@ScribeSmiso

IOL Sport