Victorious Wits coach Gavin Hunt hopes to banish his final-day blues against Chiefs

26 May 2017 - 16:33 By Mark Gleeson
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Bidvest Wits owner, Brian Joffe (R) celebrates with head coach Gavin Hunt, who just won the 2016/17 PSL champions, after the Absa Premiership match against Polokwane City at Bidvest Stadium on May 17, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bidvest Wits owner, Brian Joffe (R) celebrates with head coach Gavin Hunt, who just won the 2016/17 PSL champions, after the Absa Premiership match against Polokwane City at Bidvest Stadium on May 17, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Image: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

Gavin Hunt will be hoping to banish away last-day blues when his Bidvest Wits side take on Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday and celebrate the lifting of the trophy with a victory.

It is the fourth title for the 52-year-old coach but none of his previous three successes have ended with victory in the last match of the season – taking some of the lustre off the post-game trophy presentation.

Hunt’s first title came in 2008 with SuperSport United when the club took a three point advantage over Ajax Cape Town into the last day of the season.

  • Bidvest Wits crowned PSL champions with a game to spare Bidvest Wits became league champions first time in their history on Wednesday night in the finest style of professionalism that has been the great South African club's hallmark of their 96-year history. 

SuperSport lost 2-1 at Bloemfontein Celtic but won a first-ever title because Ajax were held 2-2 at Lamontville Golden Arrows in a dramatic finish to the campaign.

In 2009‚ SuperSport did not win any of their last four league matches but a goalless draw against Santos in Stellenbosch in their last game was enough to see them pip Orlando Pirates to the Premier Soccer League title on goal difference.

  • Thabang Monare is Wits' unsung heroComing to terms with not being in the same class as his twin brother, Thabo prepared Thabang Monare for the path he would take to be a South African champion. 

In 2010‚ Hunt’s SuperSport side sewed up a third successive championship with their second last game of the season‚ even though they lost 2-1 at home to Wits. That was because their closest challengers‚ Mamelodi Sundowns lost at the same time to Jomo Cosmos.

For the last game of the that campaign‚ which finished in March because of the impending 2010 World Cup‚ Hunt gave his second-stringers the chance for a run-out against AmaZulu and got the trophy only after a deflating 3-0 thumping.

  • Hunt's rivals shower him with praise after leading Wits to a maiden PSL titleCape Town City coach Eric Tinkler and his Lamontville Golden Arrows counterpart Clinton Larsen were quick to offer their praise of new Absa Premiership champions Bidvest Wits‚ saying they believe the club are deserved champions. 

Now he will hope that he can finish with aplomb at the expense of Chiefs after securing a fourth title – following a seven-year gap – last week when Wits beat Polokwane City and Sundowns were held at home by Maritzburg United.

The PSL will hand the trophy over to Wits at the end of the match at FNB Stadium.

  - TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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