Marumo Gallants go into their final game of the DStv Premiership season against Swallows at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday knowing a point will be enough to avoid automatic relegation.
Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Maritzburg United drew 1-1 with Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday to climb off the foot of the table as they leapfrogged Chippa United and Bahlabane Ba Ntwa into 14th place.
However, the Team of Choice have now completed their campaign and will be anxiously watching the action this weekend to discover their fate, with Gallants (14th) and the rock-bottom Chilli Boys just a point adrift of them.
Dylan Kerr suffered the first defeat of his tenure when his side went down 2-0 to the Brazilians on 6 May, which halted a seven-match unbeaten run in the top flight.
The Limpopo outfit have vastly superior goal difference to Maritzburg and are aware that a draw in Soweto will take them back above the KZN club, although a win for Chippa would mean that they'd need to navigate the promotion-relegation playoffs to stay up.
Gallants haven't scored first in a game since beating Royal AM 3-1 on 5 April as they had to come from behind against Kaizer Chiefs, the Chilli Boys and the Team of Choice recently to get a result.
Mdaka admits conceding first puts unwanted pressure on the players but he believes they have the strength of character to keep fighting until the bitter end.
"The character is there but sometimes when you concede, that energy you have to be able to go forward is not as much as when you are not conceding and when you don't score, it adds more pressure," he said.
"Therefore you either score or you don't score, you don't concede then that will alleviate the pressure of the game.
"Very, very difficult now because you have to think about other teams but until the end of the season, until the last game, we have to keep going."
Catch the next scintillating DStv premier league match this Saturday 20 May 2023 where Marumo Gallants F.C. will take on the dube birds Moroka Swallows F.C
— MARUMO GALLANTS FC (@_Marumogallants) May 18, 2023
#MarumoGallants?? #BahlabaneBantwa???? #Gallants #DSTVPREM ?? pic.twitter.com/Vd09lztGYB
The Dube Birds are looking to finish the season on a high after a 1-0 victory over Thwihli Thwahla last time out saw them record three wins on the spin for the first time in 2022-23.
That run has put Musa Nyatama's team in the frame for MTN8 football as they are tied on 37 points with Golden Arrows (8th), Sekhukhune United (7th) and Stellenbosch (6th) in ninth position.
Nyatama revealed that their form in April and May has done the players' confidence a world of good, acknowledging that results hadn't gone their way previously.
"We've incredible players, it was just unfortunate as previously we were not getting results. We've tried to motivate them and boost their confidence," he said.
"You can see how they play. We don't keep much of the ball, but you can see how they are fighting for each other."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Swallows
Kagiso Malinga: The 28-year-old winger barely had a look-in before the World Cup break but has seized his chance in the new year, scoring six goals in 14 appearances to aid Swallows' cause, including the winner against Royal AM most recently, which took them eight points clear of the drop zone.
Gregory Damons: The 27-year-old right-back struggled to establish himself in the first team initially after making the switch from Cape Town Spurs in the off-season but he's missed just three games since the World Cup break and scored an important goal against Kaizer Chiefs earlier this month to ensure the Dube Birds would not suffer automatic relegation.
Marumo Gallants
Washington Arubi: The 37-year-old Zimbabwean goalkeeper did well to limit Sundowns to just two goals, having pulled off a fantastic save to deny Peter Shalulile from a corner in the second half before Themba Zwane scored on the rebound at close range. Arubi had also kept out Shalulile earlier in the game and he produced another fine save from Gaston Sirino towards the end of the match. He'll be targeting his seventh clean sheet of the campaign against Swallows.
Ranga Chivaviro: The 30-year-old striker has played a key role in Gallants' survival bid, scoring six goals in his last six games, including a hat-trick against Chippa. Chivaviro's goal in the 2-2 draw with Maritzburg took him to 10 for the season and he has a chance to win the Golden Boot, with Khanyisa Mayo and Shalulile just two ahead of him at the top of the scoring charts.