Goals have been generally hard to come by in the DStv Premiership this season, but the weekend clashes provide the tantalising hope for fans that a rush of scoring is just around the corner.
The days of real blow-out scores being commonplace in the topflight are a thing of the past with defences tighter and teams generally more evenly matched.
The biggest win of this season so far is Mamelodi Sundowns’ 4-0 success over Kaizer Chiefs, while teams have netted three goals in a single game on only four occasions so far.
There was a time when sides scoring six or even seven goals in a game was not that uncommon, but it is perhaps a sign of the levelling of the playing field that Sundowns’ 6-0 victory over Lamontville Golden Arrows last season was the biggest topflight victory for five years, since they also won 6-0 against Orlando Pirates in 2016/17.
It edged out Cape Town City’s 5-1 home win over Baroka FC in April as the biggest win in the campaign and is the second time in three years that Golden Arrows have been on the wrong end of the largest hiding handed out. They also lost 5-0 to Bloemfontein Celtic in 2019/20.
The biggest ever win in DStv Premiership history in terms of goals scored came in the 2003/04 season when Pitso Mosimane’s SuperSport United defeated Zulu Royals (now AmaZulu) 8-1 in a good old-fashioned thrashing.
That margin of victory has been matched a couple of times though, Manning Rangers beat Hellenic 7-0 in 2001/02, while SuperSport United crushed Maritzburg United by the same score in 2011/12.
The last time a team scored seven in a game was Sundowns’ 7-1 success over AmaZulu in 2013/14.
Big wins have been far rarer lately – the largest victories in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons were both only 4-0, while in 2020/21 it was 5-1 by SuperSport over Chippa United.
Therefore Sundowns’ 6-0 win over Golden Arrows last season was more of a one-off, and not a sign of further things to come.
BIGGEST DSTV PREMIERSHIP WINS
1996/97: Witbank Aces 1 Hellenic 7
1997/98: AmaZulu 0 African Warriors 6
1998/99: Mamelodi Sundowns 7 Santos 1; Mamelodi Sundowns 7 Vaal Professionals 1
1999/00: Hellenic 6 Classic 0; Bloemfontein Celtic 6 Mother City 0; Orlando Pirates 6 Free State Stars 0
2000/01: Manning Rangers 5 African Wanderers 0
2001/02: Manning Rangers 7 Hellenic 0
2002/03: Dynamos 5 Ajax Cape Town 0
2003/04: SuperSport United 8 Zulu Royals 1
2004/05: Orlando Pirates 6 Ajax Cape Town 0
2005/06: SuperSport United 6 Bush Bucks 0
2006/07: Kaizer Chiefs 6 Maritzburg United 1
2007/08: SuperSport United 6 Free State Stars 1
2008/09: Platinum Stars 0 Lamontville Golden Arrows 6
2009/10: SuperSport United 5 Mpumalanga Black Aces 0
2010/11: Bidvest Wits 6 Vasco da Gama 0
2011/12: SuperSport United 7 Maritzburg United 0
2012/13: AmaZulu 0 Kaizer Chiefs 6
2013/14: Mamelodi Sundowns 7 AmaZulu 1
2014/15: Mamelodi Sundowns 5 Polokwane City 0; Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Bloemfontein Celtic 5
2015/16: Bidvest Wits 5 Polokwane City 0; Orlando Pirates 5 Jomo Cosmos 0; Bloemfontein Celtic 5 Ajax Cape Town 0
2016/17: Mamelodi Sundowns 6 Orlando Pirates 0
2017/18: Mamelodi Sundowns 4 Baroka FC 0; Maritzburg United 4 Bloemfontein Celtic 0; Orlando Pirates 4 Bidvest Wits 0
2018/19: SuperSport United 4 Black Leopards 0
2019/20: Bloemfontein Celtic 5 Lamontville Golden Arrows 0
2020/21: Maritzburg United 5 Chippa United 1
2021/22: Mamelodi Sundowns 6 Lamontville Golden Arrows 0
2022/23: Mamelodi Sundowns 4 Kaizer Chiefs 0*
* So far this season