SMOOTH SAILING? Mamelodi Sundowns may have already come through their toughest stretch of fixtures this season as they remain the heavy favourites to win the Betway Premiership title. Picture: Itumeleng English/Independent Media
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Media
It’s always a matter of hot debate whether or not games in hand are a good thing in football, and Orlando Pirates may have the work cut out to simply keep pace with Mamelodi Sundowns at the summit of the Betway Premiership.
Sundowns currently top the table with 55 points from 21 games, while Pirates have 39 from 17 matches. It means if Pirates win their four games in hand, they could close the gap to four points.
But here’s the thing, Sundowns have already endured a heavy month of packed fixtures in February.
Sundowns played no fewer than eight matches last month.
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Those February fixtures were made up of seven league matches and one Nedbank Cup game. In April, Sundowns will also be back in action in the Caf Champions League in a two-leg quarter-final against ES Tunis over the space of a week.
For comparison, Pirates played five games in February as two of their fixtures were postponed. The Soweto Giants, though, are still currently involved in the Nedbank Cup and the Caf Champions League and will need to make up their other league fixtures before the season ends.
Pirates will have five games in March, and have already played three of them (one Nedbank Cup, two league matches).
Sundowns will have four this month, and will play their third on Tuesday evening against AmaZulu. There is, however, the matter of rescheduling Sundowns’ postponed Nedbank Cup fixture against Sekhkhune United and it has not been confirmed when that will take place yet.
In April, Sundowns have another five fixtures as do Pirates. It will then mean that Pirates will have a backlog of fixtures to catch up on before the league draws to a close.
It means then that for Pirates those games in hand are definitely not more valuable than wins in the bank.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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