It’s Top 8 or bust for Chiefs

HERMAN GIBBS

With seven MTN8 spots already confirmed ahead of Saturday’s final day of the DStv Premiership season, Kaizer Chiefs’ season could go from bad to worse if they fail to make the cut.

Making the Top 8 cut will surely be the last wish this season for the thousands of long-suffering Amakhosi fans around the country.

Although there has been a marked drop in attendance at Chiefs’ games, thousands of diehards are staying true to the mantra ‘AmaKhosi 4 Life’ even though the team has given them nothing to cheer about.

Those who have given up supporting Chiefs will point to the absence of a trophy for the past nine seasons.

Hence, Chiefs need to eke out a winning result against Cape Town Spurs, the Premiership’s weakest team, in Cape Town on Saturday.

The frightening thing about the result is that even if Chiefs win it may not be enough because there are two teams in the running for the remaining Top 8 slot.

AmaZulu (ninth) and Polokwane (10th), like Chiefs in eighth, are all presently on 30 points, each with one match remaining. Chiefs (-3), AmaZulu (-4) and Polokwane (-7) are only separated by goal difference. Hence, if Chiefs and AmaZulu win, the goals scored, or perhaps not scored in their games, could be the deciding factor.

However, there is also the possibility that if all these three teams lose, Lamontville Golden Arrows (11th, 35 points) and Chippa United (12th, 34) could leapfrog these three teams above them if either of them win their matches on Saturday.

Spurs, although relegated just over a week ago, gave a strong performance over the weekend in an away match against Arrows. That performance might be a cue to what Chiefs may have to contend with in the Mother City.

The dwindling crowd support for Chiefs has not yet been felt in away matches, and coach Cavin Johnson is hoping the Khosi Nation will come out in force on Saturday. Johnson feels that supporters around the country won’t be deterred by the team’s poor results.

“Our supporters are very important. I know for a fact that wherever we go we always have the most supporters,” said Johnson.

“It’s been three games now that we’ve not won. People want us to win games and score goals and that’s not happening.

“Hopefully, in Cape Town, we will have a good following and we will score goals.”

Saturday’s match will be a significant one for Johnson because it could be his last match at the helm. He was appointed interim coach in October last year and after 21 games he has won only six games and went out in the first round of the Nedbank Cup.

Strangely, Chiefs will be up against Ernst Middendorp, their former coach who has the best win ratio of all coaches in the past decade. He had a winning return of 48.3%.

Spurs will be playing for pride ahead of their drop to the Motsepe Foundation Championship next season.