Stuttering Chippa & Sekhukhune aim strong finish strong

With Chippa United and Sekhukhune United struggling to find form during the closing stages of the 2023/24 DStv Premiership campaign, the Chilli Boys and Babina Noko will close their league season with a duel at the Buffalo City Municipality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Kick-off is at 3:00pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Current form

Sitting in 12th position on the table, Chippa go into their final DStv Premiership game on the back of a frustrating run that saw them record three losses and two draws in their last five fixtures.

Having secured their spot in the DStv Premiership for next season, Chippa go into their final league assignment free of relegation worries. The Chilli Boys narrowly avoided relegation during the 22/23 campaign, where they finished just one point clear of the automatic drop zone.

As for Babina Noko, the Limpopo side are winless in their last five league matches after recording two losses and three draws in their last five matches.

Regardless of any result this weekend, Sekhukhune will remain in the top eight of the DStv Premiership, with 7th being the lowest position they could drop into.

When the two sides last met in the league, Babina Noko bagged a 2-0 win at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in December, as goals by Jamie Webber and Vusimuzi Mncube jotted their names down on the scoresheet.

What was said…

“I’m personally not that disappointed for the absence of Nwabali on DStv Premiership Goalkeeper of the season,” Chippa Technical Director Morgan Mammila said regarding Stanley Nwabili’s progress this season.

“We’re proud of his 12 clean sheets [in all competitions] in his first season in South Africa and his performances [are] recognised by his country that makes him the No 1 keeper for Nigeria national team.

“We understand that we see football differently and we move on.”

“My boys pushed from the first minute till the last minute [vs AmaZulu]. It’s just that we couldn’t score. I have never seen a team miss so many chances. Other balls hit the crossbar, we were just behind AmaZulu’s defence the whole game,” Macdonald Makhubedu said in his first game as Sekhukhune caretaker coach.

“They tried to be compact and still got our chances but we were just behind them and we did everything we could but the ball couldn’t just go inside the net.

“I think this is game number 10 we are missing chances like that. It’s something we need to keep motivating them like that and try to work on our finishing.”

Players to watch

Chippa United: Craig Martin – As one of the most versatile players at Chippa, Martin has been a stand out performer for the Chilli Boys this season. Martin’s blistering pace makes him an attacking weapon and at the same time, is a useful player in defensive settings.

Sekhukhune United: Chibuike Ohizu – With eight goals to his name in the 2023/24 DStv Premiership so far, Ohizu will once again be in the running of leading the line this weekend. The Chilli Boys will have to keep a keen eye on the Nigerian attacker, given his relentless running and physical attributes in the attacking third.

Head-to-head:

Last five league results:

2021/22 Sekhukhune United 0-1 Chippa United

2021/22 Chippa United 0-0 Sekhukhune United

2022/23 Chippa United 1-0 Sekhukhune United

2022/23 Sekhukhune United 1-1 Chippa United

2023/24 Sekhukhune United 2-0 Chippa United