DON'T PANIC. Focus on Mamelodi Sundowns, the champions of Africa. Not the Soweto derby

TURKISH DELIGHT: Komphela and Ertugral

IT didn't take long for the balloon to burst. Less than a week after Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned champions of Africa, we find ourselves asking: just how good is South African football?

From the ultimate high of Masandawana winning the African Champions League 3-1 on aggregate in Egypt, the Soweto Derby six days later brought us down to earth with a bump at a near-full FNB Stadium on Saturday. Bafana's home clash with Senegal may well be the next hammer blow, though we pray for World Cup qualification fervently.

Saturday saw yet another 0-0 Drawby, another display of inept finishing, another 90mins of curious refereeing from Victor Gomes. The giants of the PSL somehow managed to overcome the self-glorifying hype to grind our optimism in to the dust with a series of wayward shots from distance, long balls out of defence, poor touches and terrible tackles.

It got all the razzmatazz of course. While the commentators at SABC and SuperSport didn’t bother to travel to Alexandria for the Champions League final and the touch-screen was switched off, the Soweto Derby got it all.

While Sundowns fans had to wait TWO DAYS to hear from the first South African EVER to win the African Champions League, we had Steve Komphela, Muhsin Etrugral and dozens more talking utter nonsense at length on Saturday evening.

KaboYellow fans might have been confused seeing failed Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim “Shaky” Mashaba talking about “football intelligence” after their side had conquered Africa, while not hearing from Pitso Mosimane. SuperSport made an utter nonsense of the biggest night for South African football in 20 years.

But listening to the commentators (between SuperSport suffering yet another series of broadcast glitches), the analysts, the coaches and the players, you’d have thought the Soweto Derby was a scintillating display of attacking football, far more important than any crusade for continental conquest.

Admittedly there were chances at the FNB Stadium. Early on, Thabo Rakhale had no intention of challenging Itumeleng Khune one-on-one, he prefers showboating. Pule Epstein’s volley just before half-time nearly hit Uranus. And the REAL chance of a goal, when Bernard Morrison was pulled down by Lorenzo Gordinho with 10 minutes left, saw Victor Gomes, for the first time since Jesus was a lad, fail to give a penalty when it looked deserved.

Sizwe Mabena told us “this game had everything” while Komphela and Etrugral announced they were “delighted” with the “passion” while blathering on about a point won rather than 2 points squandered. Neither of them gambled with a second striker, preferring instead to stick to the old Soweto Derby adage: “We cannot lose” rather than “We must win”.

We were treated to a few seconds of Komphela and Etrugral talking Turkish, which probably made more sense than most of what we heard on Saturday afternoon. With temperatures rising to 36 degrees, what did we expect from a 3.30pm kick-off during a heat-wave?

Then we could talk about Sundowns being forced to kick-off at 6pm on their grand return against Polokwane City in the Telkom KO on Thursday. Ridiculous from the PSL and SuperSport. No crowd, no fanfare, no nothing.

But hey, how can I be so negative when the CHAMPIONS OF AFRICA are off to Japan for the World Club Cup next month? Let’s just forget the Soweto Derby. And look forward (hopefully) to Masandawana v Real Madrid in a final which could be worth R80m to Pitso's squad.

And… relax.

SIMPLY NDORABLE: How Tendai finally grabbed his chance with a Soweto Derby double

THE THREE-HOUR HAIRCUT: Tendai
Ndoro shows off the style... and the Man
of the match Nedbank Green Jacket

TENDAI NDORO. Talk of the town. Two goals to win Saturday's Soweto Derby. Did it come as a surprise? Hope not, I've been talking about him for months.

Right at the start of the season, when the 27-year-old Zimbabwean striker appeared in Orlando Pirates gear for the first time, you could see the exuberance in the man from Harare, his natural knack of challenging defenders, finding the target.

It wasn’t surprising. Ndoro scored seven for Mpumalanga’s Black Aces in his first six months in 2014, I remember one night wishing out loud on Twitter that he would somehow stumble across a South African passport and help solve the Bafana Bafana striker crisis.

When Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates showed interest, Tendai - full name Takudzwa - might have been bewildered by his agent claiming English Premier League club Crystal Palace were interested. But he really did look that good.

A deal with Pirates finally emerged at the start of the season - Aces claimed he had another year to run on his contract but he found himself training with the Buccaneers by the time the season got underway.

Yet Ndoro found himself low down in the pecking order under Eric Tinkler. For months he watched as Kermit Erasmus, Thami Gabuza and Lehlohonolo Majoro took their places up front with varying levels of mediocrity.

At the time, with Pirates struggling in the lower half of the PSL, Ndoro said: “Talking about leaving Pirates in search of game time is something that is not in my vocabulary.” But you knew, in your heart, it wasn’t right.

I mentioned Ndoro’s life in limbo several times on Twitter. Nobody said much. But when Erasmus, claiming he was off to see the in-laws in Holland, signed for Rennes in France, Ndoro finally found himself taking a quick-step up the ladder.

Tinkler had little choice but to pick him as Gabuza self-destructed in front of goal and suddenly the cushion was discarded for the scoring boots. The games - and the goals - began to flow.

In the build-up to the Nedbank Cup Soweto Derby clash on Saturday, many were debating who should start up front. I said Ndoro was the obvious choice, though many felt Gabuza and Majoro were more likely.

Then God - the beardy guy who sometimes still brings out the old leather football boots - took a hand. Majoro did his hamstring in training and Ndoro secured his place.

He had a half-chance early on, then Kaizer Chiefs took over and hope began to fade. For 77 minutes, we suffered out way through the usual Soweto Derby boredom with an unusually sparse crowd.

Until the 77th minute. Mpho Makola put through a lovely ball which split the AmaKhosi’s makeshift defence. Good ball, but bouncing awkwardly. Ndoro brought it down in an instant, and to general hysteria, lashed the first goal past Reyaad Pieterse.

Five minutes later, he was at it again, banging in a laid-off free-kick low past Pieterse, bouncing in to the far corner. GAME OVER, though Ndoro produced a final curling shot just beyond the angle as he chased the fabled Soweto Derby hat-trick.

Afterwards, crowned Man of the Match with a hair-style he admits takes three hours to compose, Ndoro oozed: “That was my first Soweto Derby and I got two goals. That’s something you have to admire! I want to continue doing that, and not just in the derbies.

“Second half we wanted that one goal and we got it. That goal boosted us and helped us to get another one. I was pleased with it. Control, shoot, score.”

Tinkler explained Ndoro’s long-term exclusion by saying: “Tendai’s work-rate needed to increase. We’re a team in which everybody needs to work, and we can see he is doing that now.”

Then: “The way he expresses himself is important. We know Tendai has great ability in front of goal, when he gets the opportunity he must shoot because we know that nine out of 10 times he will hit the back of the net.”

Which rather begs the question: why didn’t we see more of him earlier in the season?

SOWETO DERBY VERDICT: two insecure coaches, two poorly-run clubs, one point each

ON THE BRINK: Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler

NEVER accuse me of not backing Steve Komphela, the current Kaizer Chiefs coach. Love the bloke. Good for the game.

I’ve backed “Mr English” for years… I suggested him for Bafana Bafana head coach when Pitso Mosimane was forced out, for Orlando Pirates when Roger De Sa left, then as Kaizer Chiefs coach when Stuart Baxter walked away.

But on Saturday afternoon, after a pretty routine Soweto Derby ended 1-1, Komphela’s outpourings, always easy to understand, verged on the inexplicable.

The former school master from Kroonstad told us: “We can relegate or elevate the PSL. It is our job to elevate. Perhaps it is time to invite international officials to South Africa.”

Essentially, Komphela - one of eleven children growing up in the Free State in the transitional 1980s - is doing what he always does. Seeking attention.

His style, immaculate in dress and voice, demands that we listen to a man who ran his own talk show when he played in Turkey - in Turkish.

Yes, Komphelikated is right. There are times when you look at a game in South Africa and think: it’s too much for this referee. Our officials are neither fit enough nor experienced enough to handle an 80,000 crowd baying for blood.

But this particular episode was curious. Komphela’s chiefs got the rub of the green on Saturday. The disallowed first half goal, a brush of the hand in the penalty area, an obvious advantage not played when Orlando Pirates were through on goal.

It was Eric Tinkler, under far more pressure, who gave the measured response: “Referees are only human. They make mistakes, we have to accept that, even when it affects lives.”

To my sensation-seeking eyes, Komphela appeared to be furious with the referee not because he was poor, but because he hadn’t given the mighty AmaKhosi the help they are now accustomed to.

Pirates are run by a 68-year-old who has dominated South African football for 30 years. Chiefs were created by a footballing legend whose son makes up his own rules. There’s not easy path for referees when these two super-powers come together.

But perhaps, if you can get past Komphela’s call for international referees, there are more obvious solutions to the problems facing South African football.

Both Pirates and Chiefs have now drawn more games than they’ve won this season. Two days before the biggest game of the season, the most prominent Buccaneer Kermit Erasmus went off and signed for Stade Rennes after claiming he was going to see the in-laws in Holland.

Neither club made a real signing during the transfer window - William Twala came from Chippa, but only thanks to a couple of loan rangers who were sent to Port Elizabeth - and in truth the Soweto Derby was a mid-table scramble.

Two poorly run clubs playing average football with a barely-acceptable level of entertainment in front of 80,000 fans. It’s been this way for years. Komphela barely pushed more than one player forward, Tinkler resorted to Rooi Mahamutsa’s long throw-ins as his major weapon.

And lurking in the background, the return of Stuart Baxter, replacing Gordon Igesund and SuperSport United. Not to mention the striker he recommended to Kaizer Chiefs, James Keene, now scoring freely for Wits.

It just doesn't make any sense. Ask last year's PSL player of the year Tefu Mashamaite or Chiefs top-scorer Mandla Masango, both now exiled in chilly Scandinavia.

Barely six months ago, Baxter led Chiefs to championship at Chiefs which destroyed dozens of long-established records. He left Naturena because Bobby Motaung refused to allow him a say in new signings. Will he now pose a threat to his old club?

At Pirates, Tinkler is still waiting for the “clear-the-air” meeting with Irvin Khoza which was promised after the CAF Confederations Cup final defeat last year. Screamer Tshabalala and Floyd Mbele barely reached for a pen during the transfer window, despite the long-term injury to Oupa Manyisa and the unexpected departure of Erasmus.

Tinkler goes from game to game, expecting the chop. How he does it is beyond me, he looked on the verge of a breakdown after half-time against Maritzburg United but still grabbed a point. But he has to go. We all know that. Will Igesund be in the frame? Is there anybody else?

These are not ordinary football questions. Nowhere else in the world will you find a league where crowd figures are top-secret, players simply disappear in mid-contract and clubs go through three or four coaches in one season.

So let's look at the head of this rotten fish. The truth is, Khoza and Motaung have held too much power for too long in South African football. It creates problems for our national team all the way down to our National First Division, where Santos coach Zeca Marques told me last week: “Neal, the NFD is pre-determined, it’s unbelievable.”

But our football stumbles on. We have analysts who refuse to offer honest opinions for fear of irritating Bobby and the Iron Duck. We have former professionals who no longer appear to offer their thoughts because they dared to be critical.

Komphela can complain about the officials all he wants. The truth is, in a nation famous for match-fixing and the phantom African Diaspora fund, referees are the least of our worries.

When our own Tokyo Sexwale can barely muster a vote from the rest of Africa in his bid for the FIFA presidency, you know the problems run deep.

Still, SAFA president Danny Jordaan’s second job - as mayor of Port Elizabeth - may soon be gone. Perhaps he’ll find time to fix things soon.

SOWETO DERBY: Tinkler reprieved... Komphela falls in to the Bobby trap

CHIEF CONCERN: Eric Tinkler joins in the Pirates celebrations on Saturday

JUST when you thought it was safe to write off South Africa’s greatest footballing rivalry, along comes a clash like Saturday’s fascinating four-goal affair at Soccer City.

The re-christened FNB Stadium wasn’t quite packed to the rafters, the hype wasn’t really there, Halloween made Kaizer Chiefs look like pumpkins and the first 20 minutes were, frankly, drivel.

But once Siya Sangweni had crushed stand-in centre-back Ivan Bukenya to pressure Itumeleng Khune in to a parry, Issa “Super” Sarr snapped up the rebound and the Soweto Derby finally had meaning again.

For Eric Tinkler, who works without a contract like the eternal caretaker, Tower Mathoho’s equaliser must have been like a dagger to the heart. A free header, his experienced defenders caught napping, 1-1 and all that hard work undone.

But there was no doubt who was dominant. Before the game, few game Tinkler’s men any chance against Chiefs, who would have gone top of the PSL for a couple of hours with a win. But they were dreadful on Saturday.

Despite inspiring the Buccaneers to the CAF Confederations Cup final with a win over might Al Ahly of Egypt, Tinkler has never had the whole-hearted support of the Ghost, even on Halloween.

Before the game, the nuggety midfielder who carved out a name for himself at the top level in Europe - which is more than any Bafana Bafana player can say these days - admitted he was under huge pressure.

With Screamer Tshabalala screaming and chairman Irvin Khoza apparently not interested, Tinkler couldn’t even find a willing volunteer for the captain’s armband after another morale sapping defeat against “sister club” Golden Arrows in midweek.

But somehow, even after Tower’s towering equaliser, Pirates fought their way back. As I said on radio and the social networks in the build-up, the Sea Robbers have become “big game hunters” in an endless season complicated by their continental crusade.

With only one win in their previous seven domestically, it was Ayanda Gcaba, once a promising rugby player, who rose to make it 2-1. And after fabulous work from Kermit Erasmus, Thami Gabuza was on hand to score the third and kill the game.

Tinkler, who had failed in both his previous efforts to usurp his arch-rivals, grinned afterwards: “For me, this was expected. I know what these lads can produce, and they’ve done it today. I’m very, very proud of them.

“Our tactical strategy worked fantastically well. There’s not a single player I can point at that didn't put in a solid performance.

“It's great to get a 3-1 win against Chiefs, but the truth of the matter is that we now need to turn our focus towards Ajax Cape Town, our next game.”

He’s right of course. Pirates aren’t out of trouble yet. They need to be contenders before the fans will stop their #tinklerout campaign. But at least they moved ahead of Gordon Igesund’s SuperSport United, which proves a point of some kind.

Suddenly the spotlight is on Steve Komphela, whose record against Pirates now reads played 12, won 2, drawn 2, lost 8. I said when Bobby Motaung dismantled his record-breaking championship machine last season, the urbane Komphela would be under too much pressure.

The loss of coach Stuart Baxter is not as serious as the shocking failure to give Tefu Mashamaite, last season’s PSL player of the year, a new contract. To play Bukenya, the ageless Ugandan midfielder, at centre-back, is to invite trouble. Quite what’s happened to Siyanda Xulu, who is now the best paid player in the PSL, nobody knows. An old injury? Back in training? But not ready for the derby? Curious.

And then there’s the other title winner they kicked out. Mandla Masango. Like MashaMIGHTY, he was forced to find a job in Scandinavia after Bobby and Chiefs refused him the pay rise he thought he deserved.

For those who have forgotten so quickly, Masango was the AmaKhosi’s top scorer in that title triumph last season. His ability to nick valuable goals from midfield is lost, George Lebese has been a capable stand-in but he appears to be carrying an injury of late.

All of which leaves Komphela, for all his flowery post-match interviews, in a bit of a hole. Instead of going top, they fall away and are lucky Bidvest Wits failed to win a couple of hours after the Soweto derby to extend their advantage with a game in hand.

Komphela blustered: “Pirates were a yard ahead of us. Each time we got the ball we lost it, and they were faster.

““We just need to go back and re-think what happened today. We lost it, we have to respond and congratulations to them.”

Not quite what the AmaKhosi wanted to hear as the Chiefs unbeaten record went up in smoke. But before the vast ranks of gold-and-black clad fans turn on Komphela, remember this: It was the “football manager” Bobby Motaung who opted to dismantle the championship squad. As I said at the time: there is only one man to blame.


Also worth a read on this issue:

How Khune was nearly Bobby trapped too: http://neal-collins.blogspot.co.za/2015/07/the-bubble-burst-where-it-all-went.html

Why Baxter REALLY left Kaizer Chiefs: http://neal-collins.blogspot.co.za/2015/05/stuart-baxter-exclusive-best-season-of.html

GOALLESS BORE: The TRUTH about the Soweto Derby: time to tell it like it is, South Africa

No goals: Baxter and Pirates caretaker Tinkler

THERE are two distinct approaches to South African football. That much was clear on Sunday morning when the newspapers dropped and we were able to truly assess the damage done to our game by yet another dreadful Soweto derby.

On the one hand we had Timothy Molobi in the City Press assuring us: “What a classic game! What a draw! Even though the match ended with zeroes on the board, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates supporters would have left the stadium a happy lot after what they saw on the pitch.”

Then, in both the Sunday World and the beneath the agonising cricket headlines in the Sunday Times, Tshepang Mailwane revealed the TRUTH: “Stuart Baxter and Eric Tinkler were not playing to win. This is why the Soweto Derby is no longer the entertaining clash it used to be.”


My quote of the day came from Baxter, who assured us: "This was the best derby the crowd will see in a long time. It was great for spectators. Transition after transition." 

But Stuart, 90,000 people don't go to a crunch battle of arch-rivals to see your bloody transitions. They go to see good attacking football, shots on target... and goals.



Anybody who actually appreciates football – and increasingly we get our fix from Spain, England and Germany where teams actually use strikers and play to win – knows that the greatest problem our game faces comes because so many people refuse to tell the truth even when it is staring them in the goalmouth.

Astute analysts know that Baxter, like our national coach Shakes Mashaba and his predecessors Gordon Igesund and Pitso Mosimane, are not the sharpest tacticians in the world. If they were, they’d probably work where their word is law and they can make their own decisions.

Instead, we live in fantasy football world where coaches turn up to find their latest signing is injured and unknown to them. In a world where the greasy palms of agents are more important than encouraging young talent or satisfying the fans. Where players move between Platinum Stars and Orlando Pirates without transfer fees, without argument.

This week, Kaizer Chiefs – 11 points clear in the PSL – will play Maritzburg United tomorrow night in front of a few thousands at the Harry Gwala Stadium. The chasing group - Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates – are also in action, attempting to keep the title chase alive in front of diminishing crowds.

Though Lux September and the PSL desperately attempt to keep it quiet, our shiny “best professional football league on the continent” is about to slip under 6,000 in terms of average attendances for the first time.

There may even be moments of real footballing excitement for the few who actually go to the stadium this week – Wits are at Amazulu and Chippa United travel to the Orlando Stadium tonight, both fascinating encounters – but for as long as we pretend our game is fit, healthy and thriving, South African football will struggle to catch up with the rest of the continent, let alone the world.

We have to accept both Baxter and Tinkler – still only a caretaker at Pirates despite a ten-game unbeaten run – were simply avoiding defeat rather than playing to win on Saturday. Chiefs barely bother to field a striker these days and never quite tell us why David Zulu and Katlego Mphela don’t feature more regularly.

Internationally, after the empty promises about Argentina, Bafana Bafana face Nigeria on March 29 with SAFA President Danny Jordaan telling us May Mahlangu, Kamohelo Mokotjo and Thulani Serero will all be considered for selection. But nobody has really explained why they didn’t play a part in a pointless Afcon 2015.

Politically, we have smug football writers decrying CAF president Issa Hayatou for being too old at 68 to continue to run an organisation he has dominated since 1988. Yet our own Irvin Khoza is 67 and has ruled our game with an iron fist since the early 1990s. And nobody quite knows how he manages it.

There are simply too many unanswered questions.  Too many half-truths and blatant lies. It starts with match reports and crowd figures. It ends with analysts being silenced and coaches being sidelined for telling the truth.

If you see the Soweto Derby as a fantastic game which entertained 90,000 people on Saturday, then I guess you think Mamelodi Sundowns will trounce TP Mazembe and Kaizer Chiefs will stuff Raja Casablanca in the next round of the African Champions League.

And you’d be the kind of person who honestly believes Bafana were just unlucky at Afcon, that goalkeepers are SUPPOSED to be changed every game and our most talented players are SUPPOSED to stand in line behind journeymen who barely get a regular game for their PSL clubs.

Surely, it’s time to tell it like it is?

DON'T TINKER WITH TINKLER: why Orlando Pirates should stop the foreign imports and appoint their caretaker

FOUR GAME STREAK: Pirates caretaker boss Eric Tinkler

ON Saturday at 2.30pm, if there is any justice in the football world, Eric Tinkler will lead Orlando Pirates out for the Soweto Derby as the club’s PERMANENT coach.

Tinkler, twice caretaker/interim/stand-in boss, deserves at least that, though I am writing this before Pirates versus Free State Stars tomorrow night.

Still just 44, the nuggety midfielder played at the top level in Portugal, Italy and England not to mention his 48 games for South Africa. He was a tough opponent on the field and as Benni McCarthy found out after the 2011 Telkom KO final, Tinkler has transferred that passion to the coaching role.

The paragraph that annoyed Wits boss Gavin Hunt before his side's 1-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns tonight: "The title-holders have two relatively easy matches this week against Bidvest Wits and Free State Stars while the runaway leaders will be engaged in tough encounters at home to both Ajax Cape Town and an Orlando Pirates outfit that suddenly believes the title is no longer out of reach."

The article in the Star newspaper, written by my old pal Matshelane Mamabolo served only to motivate Hunt's men. He said: "They have no respect. The Star article said it would be Sundowns easiest game.


"It didn't come from the Sundowns officials, it came from the journalist himself. We put it up on the dressing room wall. Sheez, they show us no respect."


Link to full article here: http://www.iol.co.za/sport/soccer/psl/title-race-could-get-interesting-1.1826345#.VPYQqnyUcXE

MARCH 7: THE SOWETO DERBY LOOMS Chiefs are no longer unbeaten and Pirates have a Major headache

SEEING RED: Majoro's colleagues step in to calm the situation

THERE will be many major debates before PSL leaders Kaizer Chiefs face arch-rivals Orlando Pirates at Soccer City on March 7. But no pre-Soweto Derby argument is as important as the Majoro debate.

With their unbeaten run halted by SuperSport United last Tuesday night, Stuart Baxter will be relieved to see his side crush minnows Edu Sport 4-0 in the Nedbank Cup on Saturday with Siphelele Mthembu scoring a hat-trick of headers and Hendrick Eckstein an instant hit after coming on as a substitute.

Orlando Pirates did much the same thing to Tornado FC in the Nedbank Cup last week, conjuring an emphatic 4-0 win as expected with all the big guns drawn at home (what were the odds?) for the opening round.

Chiefs, bruised by the 2-0 defeat inflicted by Gordon Igesund’s tough guys, have got to go to Botswana at the weekend with the far-too-narrow 2-1 lead over Gaborone’s Township Rollers to defend. The Buccaneers have got Polokwane City in the PSL.

Then, on March 4, Chiefs have got Ajax Cape Town and Pirates are at Free State Stars with the demolition derby looming.

By then we should have a clearer picture of how things are panning out for South Africa’s big two. Can the Chiefs runaway train get back on track? Will Itumeleng Khune be fit after what he described as a “minor injury” sustained when colliding with his own defender Morgan Gould on Saturday? Will Killer Mphela be fit to start?

And in the black-and-white corner will Kermit Erasmus be forgiven by caretaker coach Eric Tinkler for his tantrum after being substituted against Tornado? Will Brighton Mhlongo keep his place in goal?

But perhaps the most intriguing question of all surrounds former Chiefs striker Lehlohonolo Majoro, the man Stuart Baxter used to call “The Major”.

Majoro left Chiefs for SuperSport United – they even announced it on their website – before agent Tim Sukazi saw his carefully laid plans scuppered by Pirates, who swooped for the former AmaZulu striker amid threats of legal action.

Majoro, though not selected by Bafana Bafana for AFCON 2015, is probably the most lethal striker in South Africa. Particularly when he is in tandem with Erasmus.

But there is one nagging problem. After scoring against Platinum Stars on February 16, Majoro lost it. Out of the blue, in the 62^nd minute, he deliberately shoved his boot in to the floored body of Dikwena’s Mahlatsi Makudubela. A deliberate, blatant stamp.

Rightly red carded for his violent conduct, Majoro then blew his top and had to be wrestled off the pitch by his team-mates, with Siya Sangweni deserving credit for keeping his pal away from REAL trouble.

Tinkler said at the time: “I didn’t clearly see what Majoro did, but I watched the footage on TV. I’m very disappointed with his behaviour but after the game he came back to the pitch and apologise to his team-mates and the opposition team.

“It’s good that he came to his senses and realise his mistake but as a technical team we are still going to assess the matter and see a way forward. But his behaviour was really uncalled for.”

On twitter, @ballojoro apologised to his team-mates, the opposition and football generally for his behaviour. He also said THIS on the club's website:

“I know what I did was wrong. I acted out of anger and lost sight of what was important, which is my teammates and the Orlando Pirates brand. The referee acted accordingly because I deserved the red card and I would like to apologise to the Orlando Pirates supporters and the entire football fraternity for my actions. I’m better than that, and they deserve better than that; I promise not to do it again.

“I especially want to extend my apology to my colleague Mahlatse. As professional footballers we should treat each other with respect and always set an example. I went to apologise to him immediately after the match because I realised the error of my ways and I had to tell him man to man that I was wrong.”

Which is all well and good. But in Europe, a red card of this nature merits a further disciplinary hearing. The stamp constitutes “violent conduct” and an automatic three-match ban. The tantrum after his red card constitutes “bringing the game in to disrepute” and further action. A disciplinary hearing would be mandatory.

Yet we have heard nothing from the South African Football Association, despite repeated queries. Majoro is currently serving the routine two-match ban, having missed the Tornado game with Polokwane City and Free State Stars to come.

But with the Soweto Derby around the corner, surely Majoro’s situation must be looked at? Has SAFA’s displinary committee even looked at the incident? Can we allow such behaviour to go unpunished?

I guess the answer to that has to be YES. The apology was great but it cannot hide the loss of control. There should be a hearing. I just hope it doesn’t depend on which team you play for.

SOWETO DERBY PREVIEW: Tinkler can tinker but Kaizer Chiefs have to be favourites today

ASSAULT AND WINNER: Willard Katsande celebrates his goal in March
PLEASE CLICK RED BUTTON ABOVE AND VOTE!

LET'S get this straight. I hold no particular candle for Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates. But when South Africa comes to a grinding halt to witness the umpteenth Soweto Derby at 3.30pm (Eskom load-shedding permitting) you simply CANNOT envisage the AmaKhosi's 14th PSL game this season ending in defeat.


What is not in question is THIS: the Buccaneers, 15 points behind their arch-rivals, will be significantly improved by the departure of Vladimir Vermecovic. Since the Serbian's return to South Africa in February, I have questioned his talent, his attitude and his suitability for the job, given the way he left Chiefs two years before (see original post HERE
http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2014/02/two-shockers-for-south-african-football.html)

Eric Tinkler, a nuggety little midfielder who strutted his stuff in Portugal, Italy and 78 times for England's unfashionable Barnsley, is no mug. His stint as caretaker at Pirates after Roger de Sa's departure a year ago was by no means a disaster. He will make the Sea Robbers tough to plunder today.


Tinkler could even manage to snatch the fourth draw this season against Chiefs. He knows he enjoyed Dr Irvin Khoza's backing before and after VV's arrival; he has sat in silent support of the Serbian despite erratic selection and questionable results for nine pregnable months.


But Stuart Baxter is becoming something of an expert when it comes to South Africa's biggest game of football. The largest crowd in the world (unless somebody spots an attendance of over 85,000 elsewhere this weekend) are far more likely to witness another Chiefs victory.


Wolverhampton-born Baxter was thrown to the wolves when he arrived back in South Africa, a decade after his stint with the national team. But he won the PSL title in his opening season - the first foreign coach ever to do so - and finished second to Mamelodi Sundowns last term after a worrying end-of-season collapse.


After their opening winning streak - which also featured an emphatic MTN8 triumph - steam is once more leaking from the AmaKhosi Express. Baxter is well aware of that. With the African Champions League just around the corner, he knows beating the old foe today is vital. They could end up needing every point come May, 2015 if they are to be crowned champions.


And he knows the departure of VV at Pirates could easily work against him. Baxter says: "Change can work both ways. On the one hand, it can cause instability. One the other, it can motivate them, they could gain courage."

Derby day: How the Collins household looks today

To do that, Tinkler needs to Tinker. I've said all season Pirates looked best early on when they threw former Chief Lehlohonolo Majoro up front with Kermit Erasmus in the two-pronged assault force. Lennox Bacela is not the answer, though VV seemed to think so in recent, poor efforts.


I'd be thinking about Vieira Masalesa in the midfield too and a rocket up the bottom for captain Oupa Manyisa. There was a time when I thought the pair of them worked well together under Roger De Sa on the African campaign long months ago.


At the back, with the shadow of Senzo Meyiwa's still-unsolved murder receding, Brighton Mhlongo needs help. The best four defenders in Orlando? Rooi Mahamutsa, Siya Sangweni, Happy Jele and Patrick Phungwayo, axed by VV last week. I say: play them all. A quality quartet. Thabo Matlaba can come on from the bench and run all over the place if necessary.


For Chiefs, I'd go with both Georges - Lebese and Maluleka are both capable of goals - rather than Mandla Masango, who is looking weary of late. And I wouldn't bring back Itumeleng Khune just yet, Brilliant Khuzwayo can take the heat today.


It's up front where things changed dramatically this week. Bernard Parker, who won last season's golden boot with the ten goals he scored before March this year, finally got back on the score-sheet in an impressive 3-0 triumph over a surprisingly poor Bidvest Wits in midweek.


Those two goals could just decide this derby. A confident Parker scoring means the world to club and country. This could be just the beginning, And with Tokelo Rantie diagnosed with a "partial shoulder dislocation" at Bournemouth, perhaps Bernard will enter Shakes Mashaba's thinking before January if he carries on sniffing out the goals rather than playing deep behind the much-maligned Kingston Nkhatha.

All set: Willard Katsande via SMS this morning

But there's another option. Willard Katsande. South Africa's best defensive midfielder remains the destroyer-in-chief for Baxter. Orlando Pirates fans will remember he scored his ONLY goal in a Soweto Derby in March.


Today, via SMS, he says he'll try to score another. The 28-year-old Zimbabwean is a lesson to youngsters. His work-rate, durability and improvement - he has learned to intercept rather than fly in to the tackle so effectively as Chiefs surged ahead of the pack this season - cannot be ignored.


Perhaps Salt 'n Vinegar is the difference between Chiefs and the rest this season. I believe he'll be the difference in El Kasico today. Derby's can ALWAYS go either way, but I've got to go for unbeaten Kaizer Chiefs today.


My fun team predictions? Orlando Pirates must bring back Phungwayo, loving Issa Sarr, go with TWO up... Vieira Masalesa is a big call, but here's hoping...

RIGHTON; FUNGUY, THANKS, RED, HAPPY; OLDPA, VIEIRA, SIR SARR, GREATDANE; KERMITTED, MAJOR


Kaizer Chiefs should stick with Khuzawayo one more time, and stop booing Kingston Nkhatha, given their record so far this season...


BRILLIANT; MASSIVELELA, LION'S MOUTH, MashaMIGHTY, GALAXICO; YESYES, WELLHARD, GEORGE I, GEORGE II; BURNHARD, BOO

From Brilliant to Salt 'n Vinegar: unbeaten Kaizer Chiefs are left with one problem: KHUNE

Brilliant: Nhlanhla Khuzwayo, Man of the Match

PERHAPS we should let Willard Katsande, my favourite defensive midfielder, explain how Kaizer Chiefs ended their trophy drought in Durban on Saturday.

I interviewed the 28-year-old Zimbabwean on Soccerballz, my “visual radio show” last week. He was superb. When I reminded him he scored the first and only goal of his AmaKhosi career in a Soweto Derby last March, he was typically modest.

Nominated on the three-man short-list for last season’s PSL player of the year award, Katsande said: “It was nice to score my first goal against Orlando Pirates but my job is to win the ball, balance the defence – and cut down on my yellow cards.”

After Tefu Mashamaite’s goal had defeated the Buccaneers at a packed Moses Mabhida Stadium and secured the R8million MTN8 winners’ cheque on Satuday, Katsande had done exactly what he said he would.

Tireless running, constant harrying, winning possession, making the easy pass. Sure, Itumeleng Khune’s goalkeeping replacement Brilliant Khuzwayo won the Man of the Match award for a string of good saves, but it was Katsande who, once more, provided the platform for Stuart Baxter.

Katsande told Robert Marawa on SuperSport after the trophy lifting celebrations: "First of all we need to thank god for this victory, it means a lot as you can see, we worked very hard.

"We managed stick to coaches game plan, it was a good game, both teams wanted to win.

"Coach Baxter always told me, I'm the engine of the team, I have to win every ball and I have to break down the oppositions attacks, so my job is too balance the team, give cover for my back four.”

As the Orlando Pirates post mortem began across the social networks, there was widespread disappointment with Vladimir Vermecovic, the Serbian coach once in charge at Naturena.

Many times before the game I suggest the only way to ruffle the unbeaten, rock-solid Chiefs defence would be to start with BOTH Lehlohonolo Majoro and Kermit Erasmus. But VV chose to leave Major on the bench once more and in a first half where the AmaKhosi played some serious passing football in the Barcelona (or even Arsenal) manner, Erasmus was an isolated figure up front.

With the ever-improving Tower Mathoho and scorer Mashamaite doubling up on Kermit, Pirates simply failed to create enough chances. Majoro’s arrival was too little too late, as was the sending on of Mpho Makola who was mysteriously dropped after an impressive run of early-season form.

Pirates will, no doubt recover. Though Chiefs are on a ten-match unbeaten run, the Buccaneers have recovered from a dodgy start to move up to third in the PSL. If VV has the courage, Erasmus and Majoro can yet provide the two-pronged fire-power to keep the Sea Robbers in the hunt.

For Chiefs, one slight problem looms. Nhlanhla Khuzwayo, whose “Brilliant” form shouldn’t really have surprised us given his early rave reviews as South Africa’s Under 23 goalkeeper, has now tasted the glory.

He blossomed in front of 64,000 fans and loved every minute. Afterwards he glowed: "Thanks to my family, my girlfriend, my brothers, my friends, everyone who believed in me, Itumeleng Khune, he was like motivating me all the time since I came to Kaizer Chiefs, he is just an inspiration to me.

"Thanks to the technical team, my players, the whole team, the gardeners that clean our fields, everyone who made this a success for us, thank you to everyone, this is for them, this is for them and my family, my kids, most of all, I love them with all my hearts.

"It means everything to me, having to go out onto the field and represent yourself, represent your soul and how you feel inside, it is just an amazing feeling. It's my own backward, we're in KZN, I'm from KZN, it's just an inspiration for me to come play in KZN.

Forever fearless: Kaizer Chiefs, MTN8 winners

"This goes out to my mother, my late mother who passed away in 2006, this is why I am wearing number 16. When I was 16 years old she used to say, make me proud. When I was 16 she told me that."

Brilliant words. But any football coach, from your Under 9 boss to your high-powered international manager, will tell you how difficult it is to keep more than one goalkeeper happy in a squad.

In top level football, the substitution of goalkeepers is neither fashionable nor wise. A keeper subbed without injury is a keeper admonished. And the question is: what will Baxter do now that Khuzwayo has starred in a cup final? He also has top youngster Reyaad Pieterse as back up. Whisper it, but could Itumeleng Khune, the nation’s greatest goalkeeper, now become a sellable asset?

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED: De Sa and Igesund pose a threat to the big guns

Lurking: Igesund and De Sa

There is only one place to be this weekend. The Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday hosts the MTN8 final between unbeaten Kaizer Chiefs and resurgent arch-rivals Orlando Pirates. Stuart Baxter v VV will dominate the week for South Africa’s football-speaking majority.

To dare to predict the outcome of a game which sold out on Computicket in the space of for hours would be difficult, not to say deceptive… even dangerous. The AmaKhosi have played nine games this season, six in the PSL, and they’ve wwwwwwwwwwon them all. BuccaBucca fans will point out they are heading for a FIFTH successive cup final, an achievement as statistically improbable as it is laudable.

There will be 56,000 in Durban on Saturday enthusiastically pointing out the Forever Fearless revival of Reneilwe Letsholonyane or the Once Always option of starting with Kermit Erasmus or Lehlohonolo Majoro.

Me? I’m colour blind. Black and Gold? Black and White? It’s all the same to me, especially when your soft spot for rock-bottom AmaZulu leaves you feeling green about the gills.

More importantly perhaps, as Chiefs and Pirates take a week off league action for the R8m on offer from MTN, is what’s bubbling quietly beneath them in the PSL.

Obviously Gavin Hunt’s big spending Bidvest Wits and Pitso Mosimane’s champions Mamelodi Sundowns will enjoy their time off (Wits restart the PSL action on the 26^th against AmaZulu) before resuming the battle for the title that REALLY matters.

But I am here to warn of two quiet revolutions going on in South African football. One involves the sheer youthful exuberance of Roger de Sa at Ajax Cape Town. The other, the hard-bitten, silver-lined experience of Gordon Igesund at SuperSport United.

On Saturday, former Pirates boss De Sa, with 19 academy graduates in his 23-man squad, kept his side unbeaten in second place, four points behind Chiefs, with a 2-1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic.

Did he boast about it? Did he roar a warning to the big guns? No, De Sa simply said: “If we are going to be serious League challengers then we have got to score that third and fourth goal and we need to learn to do that."

It was De Sa who got Pirates to their first THREE Cup finals, including the big one, the African Champions League. Now surrounded by the young and impressionable rather than the over-paid and sinister, he chides: "We gave away a silly goal. Bad defending and bad goalkeeping didn’t help. We should have killed them off.”

A lot further down the table lies the other threat to the big guns. The return of Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund was always going to be interesting. After an uncomfortable two years in charge of the national squad, he returns to his real speciality: winning PSL titles.

As the only man to do exactly that with FOUR different clubs, Igesund settled in to Cavin Johnson’s hot-seat at SuperSport United and immediately inspired a 3-1 win over Platinum Stars to keep the club out of the relegation zone after a difficult start.

Igesund purred: "All national coaches start out in club football. I’m just thrilled to be back. You miss the day to day running of the club; every morning you wake up and get excited about going to training.

“With the national team you have to get your players three days before a game; they come in from overseas, and you have to do a lot of work and then go and play. Now, I’m back to working daily with my players and building relationships.

"I am loving it, and I’m so excited to be back. They had no confidence, and they were demoralized after having played 5 games and only one win. You have to pick them up and lift their spirits, and that's how I felt when I got here.”

“We will get better as we go along. It’s only one win for us; we need to go forward now and try to pick up as many points as we can.”

Stuart Baxter and Vladimir Vermecovic will dominate the week. Mosimane and Hunt will gain a mention. But if we’re not talking about De Sa and Igesund by the end of the season, I’d be surprised.

SOCCERBALLZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za with Mark Fish airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' Youtube channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

My interview with Kermit Erasmus on Socerballz last week: