Royal AM’s second consecutive defeat in the DStv Premiership, coupled with Maritzburg United’s first loss in the First Division, gave local football followers little to cheer about over the weekend.
RAM’s 1-0 defeat against newly-promoted Polokwane City in Limpopo was also their third game in a row without a win and their fourth defeat from just eight starts this season.
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Coach John Maduka’s side have enjoyed just two wins this term and currently sit in the bottom five of the standings.
The unsatisfactory set of results have probably forced RAM’s fans to wonder whether the club’s directors are going to sort their current transfer ban before the next window and make much-needed signings to beef up their inconsistent squad.
That aside, Maduka must have been as disappointed as the Polokwane City bench about the number of scoring chances that went begging on Saturday.
But he would have been far more worried than his counterparts about his team’s goal-difference after the game.
That figure now stands at minus-four, because RAM have conceded as many 11 goals from their eight assignments to date.
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They have found the net seven times.
This strongly suggests that Maduka will work hard on his team’s defence and attack ahead of their next match.
They were due to face defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday, but that fixture has been postponed to allow the Brazilians to focus solely on preparations for the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates this week.
Similarly, Golden Arrows will no longer host Bucs in Durban on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Maritzburg United’s 2-1 defeat by Magesi in the First Division in the coastal city forced them to drop to fourth position in the 16-team standings.
They now sit five points adrift of joint log leaders Orbit College and Magesi after five rounds of action.
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Orbit College were held to a goalless draw by Pretoria University at home as part of the weekend’s proceedings in the division, which is known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons.
Third place on the log table now belongs to JDR Stars, who beat former Premiership outfit Marumo Gallants 2-1 at home to sit one point above Maritzburg.
The league programme continues in midweek, with Zipho Dlangalala’s Maritzburg facing Venda Football Club at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont at 7.30 pm on Wednesday.
One of Dlangalala’s key players, Reagan van der Ross, will face a fitness test before the team departs for Durban.
Sunday’s sole DStv Premiership fixture saw TS Galaxy and Richards Bay play to a 1-1 draw at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
It was both clubs’ third stalemate of the season.
Sphiwe Mahlangu found the net in the sixth minute for Galaxy, who had RAM’s controversial former striker Samir Nurkovic in their line-up.
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RAM’s transfer fan resulted from them owing Nurkovic millions of rands in a contract dispute.
Richards Bay equalised in the 27th minute through Langelihle Mhlongo.
In the second half, the home side dominated the proceedings, but the visitors from KwaZulu-Natal held on for a precious point.
Richards Bay remained in second-last position in the standings, while Galaxy are in 11th place.