Mamelodi Sundowns have resurrected their #againstallodds hashtag after the Premier Soccer League (PSL) turned down the Pretoria club’s request to postpone a midweek fixture days before their Caf Super Cup showdown against Congolese side TP Mazembe.
Sundowns are scheduled to play a league match against Chippa United in East London on February 14 and they wrote a letter to the PSL requesting a postponement to concentrate on the Super Cup encounter to be played at Lucas Moripe Stadium on February 18.
The once-off Super Cup is contested by the two teams that won the African Champions League (in this case Sundowns) and the African Confederation Cup (TP Mazembe) in the previous year.
The PSL turned down the request‚ citing the congested fixture list as reason.
Sundowns officials are not happy that their request has been turned down as they believe that Mazembe will have arrived in SA when the fixture is played and will in all probability send ‘‘spies” to East London.
The Chloorkop club also says the fixture against Chippa puts them at a disadvantage as their players will be given the day off a day after the game and this leaves them with very little time to prepare for Mazembe.
Sundowns spokesman Thulani Thusa took to Twitter and Instagram on Monday afternoon and posted a picture of next month’s fixture list with the hashtags #againstallodds #yetagain attached to it.
PSL Lux September explained that the league has been in constant communication with all the clubs regarding a congested fixture list that has had to be extended to June 24.
‘‘Everybody understands the situation and they are aware of the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves facing this season‚” September said.
Sundowns adopted the #againstallodds hashtag last year when they often had to juggle PSL and Caf matches within a very tight schedule‚ sometimes in the same week.
The congestion can be traced back to the start of the season last year when the campaign started later than usual to accommodate the Olympic Games in Brazil.
Then Sundowns struggled to keep up with the other sides in the domestic league because of their successful run in the African Champions League.
Their fixtures were postponed again when the club participated in the Club World Cup in Japan last month.
The PSL fixtures were again postponed just before Christmas last year to next month to accommodate the African Nations Cup in Brazil.
Sundowns still have 21 matches to play to complete their Premiership season‚ starting with an away trip to Bloemfontein Celtic on February 8.
While the majority of the PSL club have reached the halfway mark and played 15 games‚ coach Pitso Mosimane’s charges have only played nine games this season.
The next few weeks will be challenging for the Brazilians as besides their league programme‚ they will also have the Champions League and the Nedbank Cup to contend with.
— TMG Digital
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