First Division sides wary of domino effect
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday April 2, 2022 08:27
Three teams are living dangerously as five could face the chop down to the third tier of the local league football. This is due to the fact that the relegation of more teams from the south in the top flight league will spark a domino effect that will be felt by sides in the DFDS. Of the five teams trying to save their places in the elite league, four are from the south of Dibete.
And in event that the three teams that drop from the elite are from the southern part of the country, then more teams in the DFDS will be forced to drop to the third their, the regional leagues. Mmegi Sport counts at least five teams that might not survive. The sun seemingly has set on bottom-placed Motaung Young Fighters. The team is winless after 14 games and has managed to play to a draw just three times with two-thirds of the season played. A place higher than Fighters with 10 points is Red Sparks. The Tlokweng outfit is not having the best of the campaigns with just two wins thus far. Mochudi Rover is placed 10th with four points ahead of Red Sparks. Taung Young Strikers is ninth with 15 points while they are level with eighth-placed Uniao Flamingo Santos.
The quintet is four places behind Matebejana who lie in a safer spot of the seventh on the log. Speaking to sister publication, Monitor Sport, Santos’ head coach Kgosietsile ‘Phaka’ Mampori is a worried man despite being five points clear of the relegation position. He highlighted that the hope is for more teams from the south to sustain their places in the top flight league to increase Santos’ survival chances in the DFDS. “I should be worried about our chances of staying in the league. Because if you look at the Premier League three teams from the south might drop. So they will push more teams downwards. And if the team that gets a play-offs place does not do well, that means more teams will relegate from this league. So any team that is from number seven is not safe,” Mampori said after his side’s recent loss to Mochudi Centre Chiefs.
Tomorrow, Forest will hope to return to winning ways as they host Tlokweng United at the Forest Grounds in Mogobane. Leaders, Holy Ghost host Santos at the Holy Ghost Park in Mmopane, while Matebele take on Taung Young Strikers at The Nest Ground.
Broadhurst United will be visitors to Red Sparks in Tlokweng. Chiefs host Matebejana at the Riverplate Grounds as Motaung Young Fighters and Mochudi Rovers will square off at the Mahusane Primary Grounds at Tsabong. This week’s round of games kick-off has been brought forward to 3.30pm.