Orlando Pirates may not have officially admitted it, but much of their Absa Premiership title aspirations were destroyed following their ill-timed 0-0 draw against SuperSport United on Wednesday night.
Milutin Sredojevic's charges gave away the 100% record in their five previous league matches, but the Bucs coach refused to be drawn on the impact of Wednesday's result with regard to the league title, which is now Mamelodi Sundowns' to lose.
It is scant consolation for Bucs that, with their third- and fourth-placed rivals floundering, they are now almost guaranteed CAF Champions League football next year - a goal Sredojevic has been yearning for since rejoining the Soweto giants in June last year.
"For us it doesn't mean anything (Wednesday's result), but we are happy with the performance of the team," is how the Serb reacted after the match against SuperSport.
Sredojevic's response to a result that all but ended Pirates' title aspirations should be mind-boggling but it is not, given the way the Serb had asserted himself before when asked about Bucs' title ambitions.
"We are now focusing on our next game, against AmaZulu [in Durban today]. We expect a good and open match against a well-organised AmaZulu team," Sredojevic said, again giving no hint about the league race.The reality, though, is that Bucs have to win two of their four remaining matches if they are to finish at least second and join Sundowns as South Africa's representatives in the Champions League next year.
Win two, or else!
Winning those two matches could be easier said than done, given that Bucs will have to get those six points against Bidvest Wits in Orlando, Cape Town City away and Free State Stars at home on May 12 in their last match of the season.
If there were any misgiving about Wednesday's devastating result for Bucs it was Sredojevic's decision not to start the match with Zambian attacker Augustine Mulenga, despite the player having scored a cracker in their last victory against Bloemfontein Celtic.
Mulenga did eventually join the fray with less than 15 minutes left on the clock, but that proved too late for the wily forward to have any impact in the game.
With nothing to lose after resigning to the fact that the league title is headed to Chloorkop and nowhere else, Bucs could still find form in their remaining matches starting from today against Usuthu.
This could also be a good time for Sredojevic to give more trust and game time to Mulenga, who is yet to show his true potential since joining the club in January.
But with football being a vastly unpredictable game, Bucs will remain somehow hopeful of overtaking Sundowns if Wits did them a favour last night by holding or beating the Brazilians at Loftus Stadium.
A result favouring Bucs in that match will mean they have to win at all costs against AmaZulu today, just as it was the case on Wednesday against SuperSport...