Latest news with #SSDiski
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Chiefs start season strong with 2-0 win over 10-man Stellies despite key absences
Kaizer Chiefs got their 2025/26 season off to a good start, outwitting 10-man Stellenbosch 2-0 in their league opener at Athlone Stadium on Sunday. Glody Lilepo converted from the spot for the second goal after Omega Mdaka missed the ball and kicked Ashley du Preez deep in stoppage time. Nkosingiphile Ngcobo opened the scoring in the first half of the sold-out affair in the Cape. Chiefs were not only without their head coach Nasreddine Nabi, who on Friday had rushed to his homeland of Tunisia to be with his wife after she was involved in a car accident. They also missed all the new players they recently signed from foreign leagues including striker Flavio Silva, midfielder Ethan Chislett and Nkanyiso Shinga. The players are believed to be still waiting for their International Transfer Clearances (ITCs). Awu- i-Candyshop madoda 🍬 Nkosingiphile Ngcobo enters his name for the #BetwayPrem Goal of the Month with his first attempt on goal 🔥 📺 Stream on DStv: @McDonalds_SA — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 10, 2025 Twenty-year-old striker Naledi Hlongwane, who was only promoted to the first team a few months ago, spearheaded Amakhosi's attack, making his senior debut. Thabiso Monyane, who joined the side from arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in July, also made his debut by starting the game. Conversely, Stellenbosch only made two changes to the starting XI that beat AmaZulu 3-2 in the MTN8 quarterfinals last week, with Chumani Butsaka and Siviwe Nkwali replacing Thato Khiba and Athenkosi Mcaba from the previous game's first XI. Nkwali would be sent off for preventing Mduduzi Shabalala from a goal-scoring opportunity in the 15th minute. Ngcobo beautifully tucked away the resultant free-kick on the edge of the box, beating the home side's goalkeeper Sage Sage Stephens hands down. Chiefs started brightly, winning four back-to-back corner-kicks inside the first five minutes. Stellies also had their fair share of corners in the next few minutes, making it for a thrilling start. Conceding proved to be a wake-up call for Stellenbosch as they started to throw more numbers upfront, putting Amakhosi's defense under a lot of pressure. Lilepo wraps it up from the spot 🎯 He scores at Athlone against Stellies for a second consecutive match 💪💪 #SSDiski | #BetwayPrem — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 10, 2025 Wandile Duba cleared one ball off the line amid the hosts' dominance. Devin Titus also nearly levelled matters six minutes before the hour mark, only for his excellent curler to hit the woodwork. Sanele Barns would be the next Stellies player to hit the woodwork again, via a free-kick, a few minutes later. The second half wasn't as entertaining as the first one. Chiefs brought in Sibongiseni "Ox" Mthethwa for Ngcobo at the start of the stanza and that stabilised things for them in the midfield as Stellies couldn't find the joy they found in the first half.
IOL News
05-08-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Seema turns to SuperSport's academy roots as Siwelele build begins
Lehlohonolo Seema will look to Siwelele United youth system – inherited from SuperSport United – as he eyes a strong start for his side in their Betway Premiership opener against Golden Arrows this weekend. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix The revival of Bloemfontein football rests firmly on the shoulders of former SuperSport United youth products, as Siwelele FC head coach Lehlohonolo Seema has put his faith in development ahead of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign. The recently rebranded club — formed after the purchase of SuperSport's Premiership status — is a bold attempt to return elite football to the Free State. But logistical and administrative delays have meant a temporary relocation to Gauteng, leaving Seema with more headaches than home comforts. Still, the 45-year-old is pushing ahead with preparations as Siwelele get ready to host Manqoba Mngqithi's Golden Arrows in their season opener on Saturday night (kick-off 8pm). Speaking at the league launch on Tuesday, Seema didn't shy away from the challenges of assembling a new squad during an uncertain pre-season, which has seen a revolving door of trialists and fresh faces come through the club's gates. 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒: The fixtures for the 2025/2026 #BetwayPrem season have been announced. All the matches will be LIVE on SuperSport 📺#SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) August 1, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'I was not fully charged with the process of assessing trialists, I was more concerned about the time, so the coaches that were at the club administered that,' said Seema. Yet amid the instability, Seema has chosen to anchor the rebuild around players developed under SuperSport United's renowned academy system — long regarded as one of the most consistent pipelines of talent in South African football. 'SuperSport was one of the teams that had a very good development so the players I found there, I was happy to give them an opportunity,' he said. Many of the players retained may not be household names yet, but Seema believes in their readiness. 'We don't call them youngsters anymore because some of them have a season in the top flight. I call them experienced and they call me crazy.' Among those expected to feature prominently are Neo Rapoo and Aphiwe Baliti, with Seema praising their potential and maturity.
TimesLIVE
29-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
SuperSport survive dreaded playoffs in game of two halves, and three months
The Betway Premiership season has officially, finally, come to an end with SuperSport United surviving the dreaded promotion play-offs with a 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Thursday. This second half, which ended without goals, was a continuation of the match that was abandoned at half time on February 23, three months ago, due to Lucas Moripe's lights going out amid a power failure with the score level at 1-1 at half time. At that time, SuperSport opened the scoring after four minutes through the effort of Christian Saile and that goal was cancelled out in the 24th minute by Velemseni Ndwandwe for Arrows. SuperSport, whose future remains in doubt with rumours the club is on sale, are equal on 27 points with Cape Town City but they have a better goal-difference and they have saved their status in the PSL. Emotional scenes as SuperSport Utd breathe a sigh of relief 🥹 #BetwayPrem | #SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 29, 2025 This means City, who finished 15th, go to the play-offs where they will play against Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) sides Orbit College and Casric Stars — pending an arbitration involving MFC champions Durban City — to save their PSL status. It is not known whether this is the end of this matter because City's boss John Comitis is believed to be seeking legal advice to challenge the validity of this match, where two halves were played three months apart. According to the rules, the game should resume with all personnel who were involved that day and yellow cards in place but both scorers Saile and Ndwandwe were not in the match-day squads, presumably due to injury. Both sides' coaches had also changed, Andre Arendse replacing Gavin Hunt at Matsatsantsa and Manqoba Mngithi coming in for Kagisho Dikgacoi and Musa Bilankulu, who became his assistants, at Arrows. Ordinarily the 16th-placed Premiership side is automatically relegated and 15th team goes to the promotion-relegation playoffs. This season, due to Royal AM's expulsion, only the 15-positioned side goes to the playoffs, with no side dropping automatically. Faced with a situation where a defeat could have resulted in devastating consequences, Arendse went with a strong line-up of players like the Bafana Bafana duo of Ricardo Goss and Nyiko Mobbie, former national captain Thulani Hlatshwayo, Ime Okon, Lebohang Maboe, Sipheshihle Ndlovu, Samir Nurković and Lyle Lakay. Mngqithi picked a strong combination too, which included key players like Isimail Watenga, Gladwin Shitolo, Brandon Theron, Nduduzo Sibiya, Nhlanhla Zwane and Lungelo Dube. Arrows ended the season in 12th place and Mngqithi has a lot of work to do during the off-season to recruit players who will help the team be consistent next campaign. There was relief at the final whistle with SuperSport players and members of staff in wild celebrations but the issue remains about the continued status of the club that has three league titles.
IOL News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Title party at Loftus as Mamelodi Sundowns rejoice with Champions League final on the horizon
Mamelodi Sundowns have another opportunity to celebrate, if they can beat Pyramids in the upcoming CAF Champions League final. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Mamelodi Sundowns will be officially crowned 2024/25 Premiership champions at Loftus Versfeld today. They face Magesi FC in their final home game of the campaign, with kick-off set for 5.30pm. The match will also mark the official handover of the new-look PSL trophy. Sundowns clinched the title on Wednesday night with a commanding win over Chippa United at Buffalo City Stadium in East London. The win took them to 70 points from 27 matches – making them mathematically untouchable at the top. It also gave coach Miguel Cardoso the green light to start planning for the CAF Champions League final. 'I will start thinking about it now,' Cardoso said, looking ahead to the May 24 showdown against Pyramids FC in Pretoria. 'But it doesn't mean we will not prepare to win our next match (against Magesi). 'Of course we will, because Magesi have been doing well in their recent games. We want to finish the league in the best way, in front of our fans.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Mamelodi Sundowns' attack is lethal 🔥 These six players have scored a combined 51 goals in the #BetwayPrem this season.#SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 16, 2025 He further added: 'But I will now obviously start planning for Pyramids. 'I know that my people are working on it because that's the way we prepare. The way they are also working on the Club World Cup. 'But about the Club World Cup, I don't worry at all. 'I have time to start watching something about Pyramids, but let's keep an eye on ourselves because that's also the most important thing.' Striker Iqraam Rayners opened the scoring against Chippa in their last fixture. The goal moved him level with teammate Lucas Ribeiro Costa – both now on 14 league goals. This sets up a friendly in-house shootout for the Golden Boot in today's fixture. Cardoso, appointed in December, has guided the club to 17 wins, one draw and one loss in 19 league matches. His impact has been felt across the board, particularly in how Sundowns have coasted to the title. 'I have time now to start watching something about Pyramids,' he said. 'But let's keep an eye on ourselves – that's also the most important thing.' 𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙎𝙊𝙇𝘿 𝙊𝙐𝙏 ⏰ Ticket holders, be sure to arrive early! 🚫 No tickets will be sold at the stadium.#Sundowns #TotalEnergiesCAFCL #RabatsenaGape — Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) May 15, 2025 Masandawana have now matched the PSL-era record of 23 wins in a 34-game season. They also shattered their own record for most wins in a 30-game campaign – all achieved in just 27 games. Their dominance has been absolute. Today's visitors, Magesi FC, come in hot with five straight wins. They've only conceded two goals in that stretch, and sit 12th on the table with five games remaining. Though not yet safe from relegation, they'll hope to build on their momentum and climb further. Magesi will still face Marumo Gallants and Orlando Pirates after this weekend. Delano Abrahams remains their key man. The versatile forward has scored in three of Magesi's last five matches. He'll be looking to test the newly crowned champions on their big day. But the afternoon will belong to Sundowns. Their title defence is complete – now, the focus shifts to Africa.
TimesLIVE
13-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Pirates turn it on at Orlando to bid ‘padre' Jose Riveiro farewell in style
On an emotional night where they were bidding farewell to their ' padre ', Orlando Pirates produced a sensational performance over hapless Golden Arrows befitting the occasion. They stepped it up in style with a domineering 3-0 Betway Premiership victory in the last match for outgoing coach Jose Riveiro at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night, thanks to goals from Tshegofatso Mabasa in the 16th minute, Bandile Shandu (61st) and Kabelo Dlamini (66th). Riveiro, who won five cup competitions in three years, has been granted an early release from his contract to join a new club and this was the last time he sat on the bench, with Mandla Ncikazi set to take over their remaining four matches. The players went out to do their warm-ups wearing T-shirts with messages of appreciation. The fans were not to be outdone as they displayed a huge banner in the west stand screaming: ' Muchas gracias padre Jose Riveiro por siempre una leyenda. ' Jose Riveiro's final message to the Orlando Pirates fans 🥹🎙️ #BetwayPrem | #SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 13, 2025 From Spanish, the banner translated to: 'Thank You father Jose Riveiro, always a legend.' Riveiro will always have a special place in the hearts of the Buccaneers for bringing stability, trophies, improving players and most importantly giving opportunities to young players. In this match, Riveiro handed a further debut to captain to Bucs' DStv Diski challenge side Cemran Dansin, 17, who replaced Dlamini in the 75th minute. It was a good win for second-placed Pirates, but it is almost certain to not have an affect on the title race, which is almost won by Mamelodi Sundowns. The Brazilians need a point from their last two matches — and on form seem highly likely to get at least that against Chippa United at Buffalo City Stadium in East London on Wednesday night (7.30pm) — to be crowned champions for the eighth successive season. The Jose Riveiro era comes to an end 🎬 #BetwayPrem | #SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 13, 2025 For Arrows, the defeat leaves them in danger as they are second-from-bottom on the standings and may be dragged into the dreaded play-offs at the end of the season. Riveiro made three changes to the team that lost the Nedbank Cup final 2-1 to Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday with Shandu replacing Deano van Rooyen in defence. In the middle of the park, Riveiro showed faith in young midfielder Simphiwe Selepe, who replaced Thalente Mbatha, and Dlamini came in for Patrick Maswanganyi. In attack, Mabasa was preferred for Evidence Makgopa, who scored Bucs' only goal against Chiefs. Rele's skill, Mabasa's finish 😮💨 The Bucs want to give Jose Riveiro the best send-off ✅ 📺 Stream #BetwayPrem on DStv: — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 13, 2025 Visiting coach Manqoba Mngqithi went with his tried and tested of players like Isima Watenga, Ayanda Jiyane, Velemseni Ndwandwe, Brando Theron and Nduduzo Sibiya. Pirates opened the scoring when Mabasa found the back of the net from close range after Relebohile Mofokeng dribbled past Theron in the box. Mabasa, not a regular starter this season, ran more than half of the pitch to celebrate with Riveiro and the rest of the technical staff. Pirates were turning it on and a few minutes later Shandu was unlucky as his shot struck the upright after it deflected off an Arrows defender as the scored remained 1-0. Arrows responded with attack of their own that ended with Sibiya's shot striking upright with Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine beaten. Pirates increased their lead when Shandu forced the ball into the net from a tight angle. Dlamini made it 3-0 with a delightful free-kick to effectively end the game as a contest.
