PSL dogfight rages

Just when Maritzburg United thought they were done with Soweto teams for the year - having played Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows - they face another Soweto team tonight: Orlando Pirates.

Pirates were held to a goalless draw by a resolute University of Pretoria last week.

With the middle of the Premier Soccer League table looking like Johannesburg's congested highways during peak-hour traffic, three points have become an all-important commodity.

For example, only seven points separate third-placed Wits from 13th-placed Swallows.

Three points go a long way, especially with the league set to go into overdrive ahead of the Christmas break and the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

Maritzburg United coach Steve Komphela is well aware of this, especially after his team's second-half meltdown against Moroka Swallows on Wednesday evening.

After dominating much of the first half and scoring in the 28th minute, Maritzburg United stumbled in the second half.

Swallows have a reputation for letting their opponents grab the lead - only to take it back with a vengeance.

Swallows scored two goals in the last nine minutes to snatch a 2-1 win.

Maritzburg had their chances to seal the game but Terrence Mandaza and Mohammed Anas were wasteful in front of goal.

Football can be cruel, but the team that use opportunities are almost always rewarded.

Maritzburg have now sunk to the middle of the log after ranking third prior to the Swallows encounter.

The KwaZulu-Natal side have not had much luck at Soccer City, the venue for tonight's game and not Orlando Stadium, Pirates' traditional happy hunting ground.

Maritzburg's last two visits ended in 1-0 defeats to Kaizer Chiefs, but they were mightily unfortunate to come away empty-handed as they played well.

Pirates are only a point ahead of Maritzburg and need the win to get a good head of steam going into Saturday's crucial Soweto derby with Chiefs. They are still 12 points adrift of Amakhosi and a win tonight will cut that lead, even though their rivals still have a date with Wits tomorrow evening.

Pirates could and should have cut the gap after Chiefs were held to a goalless draw by Polokwane City away on Tuesday, but they themselves fired blanks and had to settle for a draw against the University of Pretoria.

When Pirates have looked good, which was the case in their match against Supersport United, they have been awesome.

In the aforementioned match, Pirates came from behind to win the game 2-1.

Though the result will be important for Pirates coach Vladimir Vermezovic, the game will also be an indicator of where they are ahead of Saturday.

Even though the form book is thrown out of the window when it comes to the derby, wrinkles will need to be ironed out.

The last thing Pirates want to do is to go into a big game on the back of a loss.

The other game tonight sees AmaZulu host AmaTuks at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu, near Durban.