WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK: The ONLY man who can stop Sundowns becoming champions of Africa on Sunday

THAT'S FINAL: Gambian referee Bakary Gassama, 37

ONLY one man can stop Mamelodi Sundowns from being crowned champions of Africa in  Egypt on Sunday. He’s a Gambian with a silver whistle called Bakary Papa Gassama.

Currently considered CAF’s finest referee, Mr Gassama also refereed last year’s African Champions League final 2nd leg and is lined up for the crunch clash between Nigeria and Algeria 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on November 12.

He refereed at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and was the man in the middle for the 2015 African Nations Cup final between Ghana and the Ivory Coast in Bata‚ Equatorial Guinea.

In short, he’s the best there is, a judgement confirmed by the Confederation of African Football when he was named the continent’s best referee at the annual CAF awards last year.

When you go to Alexandria’s Borg el Arab Stadium with a 3-0 lead, as Pitso Mosimane’s Masandawana do on Sunday, a strong, unimpeachable referee is a MUST.

With Jean Claude Birumushahu of Burundi and Marwa Range of Kenya running the lines, Mosimane knows exactly what to expect.

As the KaboYellow heroes headed to Egypt, Mosimane said: “We’ve checked the referees – to see how they deal with pressure. We realise that some of the fouls the referees will deal with differently in Egypt.  I’m not talking about cheating.”

There are other dangers awaiting Sundowns, who have crushed everything in their path after re-entering the tournament via the backdoor after AS Vita - who knocked them out before the group stages - were disqualified for playing an ineligible player.

Mosimane grins: “The 12th player (a capacity 40,000 crowd who were largely allowed in to the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium for half-price if they wore Sundowns colours on Saturday) played a very big part. And in Egypt it will play a very big part.

“But they understand that there will be lasers in Egypt. I told them, ‘We’ve been there with Bafana – there were lasers, nothing happened. So let’s go and play.”

And then there’s the latest twist in the modern game. Electronic death threats: “There have been messages sent via social media, to all the players - whoever has got an Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter account, all of them. They have received death threats.

“But you know those things are OK. It’s mind games. The match is eleven versus eleven on the pitch.

“The players have laughed about it. I said, ‘OK that's good. Because if they don’t talk about it maybe it could affect them’.

With Colombian striker Leonardo Castro still injured, Pitso is unlikely to make many changes to his side on Sunday night. He said on Saturday: “If we play like this nobody in the African continent can live with us.”

With a decent referee it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment. And with one eye on Zamalek’s near-failure to qualify from the semi-finals despite a four goal lead, let’s be honest. If you can’t defend a 3-0 advantage, you don’t deserve to be continental champions.

The star is loading. It's been loading since Orlando Pirates did the job in 1996. And nobody is better-qualified than Mosimane to bring it home.

WELL HELLO DOLLY: after years of waiting, South Africa finally gets a glimpse of Keagan's genius

DOLLIGHTFUL: Keagan Dolly after his 1st goal in Gambia

I said hello, Dolly, 

Well, hello, Dolly

 It's so nice to have you back

where you belong

You're lookin' swell, Dolly

I can tell, Dolly

You're still glowin'

You're still crowin'

You're still goin' strong

Those are the lyrics of one Louis Armstrong, in a hit single which swept around the world in 1964 after the launch of “Hello Dolly”, the musical of the same name.

I was three at the time but here we are, 52 years later and Keagan Dolly, aged 23, has finally become a hit with South Africa’s national football team.

Dolly, from the same Westbury suburb west of Johannesburg as Everton’s Steven Pienaar, should have been a Bafana Bafana veteran with 30+ caps by now.

But years of non-selection by the agent-manipulated national head coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba meant that his two assists and two fantastic strikes in Gambia on Saturday marked just his SECOND international appearance.

Dolly, who moved from Ajax Cape Town to Mamelodi Sundowns for R7m in 2014, was actually given a debut that year during 3-0 win over Sudan in Omdurman.

Since then, Mashaba has used various excuses to keep South Africa’s finest young player out of the senior squad, ranging from youth, lack of fitness, being on loan at his former club Ajax Cape Town, and - infamously - refusing to pick Keagz for the AFCON 2017 clashes against Cameroon this year “because he is involved in the U23 friendly in Brazil”.

While Rivaldo Coetzee, three years younger, was consistently selected despite obvious failings, Dolly was persistently ignored despite his progress in the PSL with Pitso's Masandawana.

That glaring omission came back to haunt Shaky on Saturday. Dolly, rampaging down the left, made two goals for low-scoring Orlando Pirates striker Thami Gabuza before thumping home two of his own from outside the box. Imagine, we asked, if Dolly had played in all the Group M qualifiers? Would that left foot have been the difference against Cameroon?

It was Dolly’s day. So much so that it’s hard to imagine him returning to PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns after the Rio Olympics, he is surely bound for a European apprenticeship in September.

CHAMPION: Keagan Dolly in action for Sundowns

Amid the bizarre suggestions that this was some stroke of Mashaba genius or that we had suddenly found a superhero, the more enlightened Bafana fans recognised the record 4-0 away win in Bakau for what it was: too little, too late for our boys.

Dolly himself said: "There’s more to come, watch this space!

“This has been some year for me. I have won lots of things, selected for major awards and now being called for the national team and do this.

“It gives me a wonderful feeling but I want to continue working hard so that I repay the faith my coaches have placed on me.

“The coach told me to shoot when I am within range and I did exactly that in the second half and the rest as they say, is history.

“With the team leading 2-0 and cruising, I told myself ‘give it a go’ and boy I have never felt so good.

“My career is really blossoming but will continue to work hard, keep my feet grounded and put more effort in whatever I do.”

The sky appears to be the limit now for Dolly as Sundowns head in to the group stages of the African Champions League by default and Bafana prepare for COSAFA and the Olympics.

But soon the World Cup draw will outline the way ahead for South African football, where Dolly will become the central figure in Bafana’s plans.

It matters not who leads the nation in to those qualifiers, Dolly - and other youngsters ignored despite Danny Jordaan’s now-forgotten Vision 2022 plans - are the future for South Africa football. The nation will insist on a youthful future after Dolly’s heroics, no matter who leads the team.

Though a national coach who picks on form, youth and is capable of understanding modern football would be a major advantage in what promises to be a turbulent road to Russia in 2018.

CHAMPIONS DETHRONED: Did a simple lack of Knowledge bring down Kaizer Chiefs?

Double trouble: Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter

ON THE RIGHT TRACKS: Kaizer Chiefs
looked unbeatable two months ago

Kaizer Chiefs fans, you are not alone. Just like the reigning champions in Spain and England, South Africa’s mighty AmaKhosi are left asking: “Where did it all go wrong?”

Uniquely, while FC Barcelona and Manchester United can blame the loss of their crowns on managerial changes, Kaizer Chiefs retained Stuart Baxter – the first foreign coach ever to win South Africa’s domestic championship in his first season – but still failed to reach the double-winning heights of last season.

Like Barca without Pep (and the late Tito) or United without Fergie, Kaizer Chiefs have finished out of the running (barring miracles), ending a potless season scratching their heads while their rivals compete for Champions League and domestic trophies.

Ironically, for the latter part of Saturday’s morale-busting penalty shoot-out defeat in the Nedbank Cup semi-final at Wits University, we actually saw a little of the old Chiefs panache.

Gavin Hunt’s men were outplayed for most of the extra-time period, before Moeneeb Josephs superb opening save in the shoot-out sent them surging through on penalties.

And just to really rub salt in the wounds, Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates then saw off Steve Komphela’s unfashionable Maritzburg United 2-1 to reach their FOURTH final of the season on May 17 at the mighty Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

DERAILED: The Chiefs express is in trouble

Suddenly, after a season which has seen the vast AmaKhosi clan laughing at the Buccaneers as they switched coaches and struggled to win their games in hand, it’s Pirates who look like the more successful club this season. Four finals is a record not to be sniffed out. The MTN8, Telkom KO and African Champions League bring rich rewards despite last-hurdle defeats … and even if they lose all four and go down to Wits in the Nedbank final, rather four cup finals than NONE.

All of which leaves Stuart Baxter – and the Motaung family – pulling their collective hair out. Two months ago, Chiefs were nailed on for the PSL title, unbeaten from November 5 and NEVER beaten at home under their Wolverhampton-born boss.

And now we come to the crucial question: Where did it all go wrong? Was it that first ever home defeat against Allan Freese’s Platinum Stars, who have barely won a game since?

Or how about the trip to DR Congo when, without television coverage or a single South African football reporter to witness it, they went down 3-0 to AS Vita as the Champions League train was firmly derailed?

Or perhaps it was Bernard Parker’s ankle. He’s played with strapping since early in the year – but the PSL’s top goal-scorer (with a measly 10) has failed to add to his tally since February despite starting throughout the run-in.

But no, in essence, it was none of these things. The real damage was done by the injury to another ankle. When Knowledge Musona began to struggle, so did Chiefs. Musona, still haggling with Bundesliga club Hoffenheim over his loan deal at Naturena, scored the Champions League hat-trick in Mozambique, he produced the goals which kept the four-month unbeaten streak going, and in truth (with 15 goals in all competitions) he was always the Chiefs spearhead.

And just as we joked about “Knowledge is power” and “a little bit of Knowledge is a dangerous thing” so we found that, without Knowledge Chiefs couldn’t overcome the Clever Boys when it mattered.

Baxter tried manfully to manage the grinding disappointment of semi-final failure. He said: “Penalties it is what it is; it is a very, very fine line. I must just say congratulations to Gavin Hunt and his boys and I wish them all the best in the final.”

But he was unable to summon the tears which accompanied Pitso Mosimane’s post-match display when champions-elect crashed out of the Nedbank Cup.

He tried to explain the pressure, the drain of the African Champions League: “We have done what we can in very trying circumstances and no-one has complained. We’ve gone on with it. I don’t know if anyone reflects on it, but those last 15 minutes today were more than I could have asked for.

“And going to extra-time is not what you want. If anybody says these players have let anybody down, they don't know anything about football.”

It’s strong stuff that, from a man who questioned his role at a club where the fans were booing Kingston Nkhatha even when Chiefs were top of the League.

Of course, things could yet turn around for Kaizer Chiefs (and Barcelona) with SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson insisting his side will give their all against Masandawana tomorrow night. But it's highly unlikely.

Predictably, in the darker realms of the social networks, there are those calling for “Baxter out” just as Manchester United and Barcelona supporters reacted to their disappointments this season.

But that would be a mistake. Baxter can recover from this slump, this shocking failure (barring a miracle) to defend the trophies he won last year. But to do that, he’ll need a little bit more Knowledge.

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What a weekend: THAT Mor Diouf video, the Q3 table, Stuart Baxter... and Gavin Hunt

Here it is, the Q3 table as it stands right NOW. Kaizer Chiefs won Q1, Platinum Stars took Q2. Chiefs are clearly favourites for the third cheque of R1.5m.

But look at Moroka Swallows, SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits... and even AmaZulu, who are out of the relegation zone in the overall PSL table for the first time this season.

Sadly, life in Cape Town remains gloomy, with Chippa United and Ajax joining plunging Leopards in the bottom three.



1 Kaizer Chiefs 6 4 2 0 10 3 7 14
2 Moroka Swallows 6 3 2 1 9 6 3 11
3 Supersport United 6 3 2 1 5 3 2 11
4 Bidvest Wits 6 3 2 1 8 7 1 11
5 AmaZulu 6 3 2 1 4 3 1 11
6 Orlando Pirates 5 3 1 1 7 4 3 10
7 Bloemfontein Celtic 6 2 3 1 8 6 2 9
8 Free State Stars 6 2 2 2 7 5 2 8
9 Platinum Stars 6 2 1 3 7 6 1 7
10 Golden Arrows 6 2 1 3 5 6 -1 7
11 Mamelodi Sundowns 6 1 3 2 5 4 1 6
12 Maritzburg United 6 1 2 3 4 8 -4 5
13 University Of Pretoria 6 0 4 2 4 7 -3 4
14 Chippa United 6 1 1 4 5 10 -5 4
15 Black Leopards 6 1 1 4 6 12 -6 4
16 Ajax Cape Town 5 0 3 2 4 8 -4 3

These important provisos from the ever-efficient Luxolo September, PSL media manager:

- Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates has NOT been included because it is a Q4 match brought forward.

- Q3 will only be complete when postponed matches from this quarter have been played.

Some quotes from Kaizer Chiefs boss Stuart Baxter on SportsTalk last night (www.702.co.za) after the Soweto derby:

“Kingston Nkatha has a bang on his hip, we got him right for the derby but he got another bang on it. Our for at least a week.

“We’re all desperate for success. It’s a bit like Arsenal. We wanted to make this a coaching environment at the club.

“We’ve just finished re-organising the academy and maybe we can get a bit of silverware at the end of the season.

“Kaizer’s ambition is that we will be able to provide for the future from the youth and make one or two marquee signings.

“We have got that sort of talent and we’re hoping to attract it as well.

“We’re gone to have eight cup finals now. We’re hoping to take each one as it comes, prepare meticulously.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to manage players in such difficult circumstances. The hype for this one is world class, even if the game wasn’t!

“I haven’t woken up with one hand on the title. I’ve woken up like a man who wanted three points yesterday!“

And this from Gavin Hunt, in the pub after Mor Diouf's sensational 60-year "Beckham strike won the Tshwane derby:

"When he hit it, I thought: "Where's that going." Then I saw where Wayne (Sandilands, the goalkeeper) was and I started running. I didn't stop. He'll never do that again in his life, I promise you.

"I actually felt sorry for Pitso (Mosimane). They should have had us 5-0 in the first half. I must be going senile, I forgot to make substitutions until half-time. Then we got better."