Lamontville Golden Arrows will renew their rivalry with AmaZulu FC in DStv Premiership
On Saturday, May 14, 2023, the DStv Premiership will witness a derby match between Lamontville Golden Arrows and AmaZulu FC at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban, South Africa. The match will kick off at 3 pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).
Abafana Bes'thende of Golden Arrows are currently ninth on the DStv Premiership standings, with five points above the relegation zone and three points behind sixth-placed Stellenbosch FC, after they managed to hold Cape Town City to a goalless draw away on May 3, which extended their winless run to three matches in the league.
On the other hand, AmaZulu FC fought back to hold champions Mamelodi Sundowns to a 2-2 draw at home on May 3 and are now undefeated in their last two games in the league. Usuthu are occupying the 11th spot on the DStv Premiership standings, with four points above the relegation zone and three points behind seventh-placed Sekhukhune United, with two games left.
Golden Arrows have no suspension concerns and Pule Mmodi has recently returned from injury. AmaZulu will be without the suspended Sphesihle Maduna, but the club is yet to report any injuries ahead of the encounter.
The coaches have shared their thoughts ahead of the derby match. Vusumuzi Vilakazi, co-head coach of Golden Arrows, said, "No, we’re not under pressure, but it is something that we wish to see. At the beginning of the season [we said] we want to see ourselves in the top eight, but we are not under pressure at all. When we were given a chance to lead the team, there was no mandate whatsoever, but obviously as coaches and also as players, we had targets that we set for ourselves in terms of making sure that we finished in the top eight.
So it is still possible, and we are left with two games playing AmaZulu FC and also Chippa United, so we should get at least four if not six points." Augustine Chidi Kwem, AmaZulu FC striker, said, "The game is very important because it is also a derby. The whole season, we haven't had good results in derby matches against Royal AM, even when we played Golden Arrows, we lost in the first round, and [against] Maritzburg [United], we managed to get [two] draws.
It is a must-win match, especially with our eyes on the top eight. The fans must come out in numbers, and we hope that this time we won't disappoint them. A victory in one of the derbies towards the end of the season would be a good thank you to the fans."
There are several players to watch in the match, including Nduduzo Sibiya, the 27-year-old attacking midfielder of Golden Arrows, who has been directly involved in six league goals this term, and Pule Mmodi, the Bafana Bafana international who scored the only goal of the match as Arrows defeated AmaZulu in the first-round league encounter in August last year. Ramahlwe Mphahlele, the experienced defender of AmaZulu, is in good scoring form at the moment, having netted in back-to-back matches against Sekhukhune United and Sundowns.
Ethan Brooks, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder of AmaZulu, has hit form, having grabbed a goal against Sekhukhune before providing an assist as AmaZulu drew with Sundowns, and he could be the player to propel Us
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