Maritzburg United performed something of a great escape, earning a point in their final match of the regular DStv Premiership season away at Mamelodi Sundowns to move off the foot of the table. Can they build some momentum from there in the playoffs?
We take a look at the club and their chances against Casric Stars and Cape Town Spurs.
SEASON RECORD
League Finish: 15th in the DStv Premiership
Overall record: P30 W7 D9 L14 GF24 GA40
Home record: P15 W4 D5 L6 GF13 GA23
Away record: P15 W3 D4 L8 GF7 GA17
Most league appearances: Karim Kimvuidi – 29 (23 starts, 6 subs)
Top scorer in the league: Amadou Soukouna – 8 goals
Nedbank Cup finish: Lost 2-0 (home) in the Last 32 to Kaizer Chiefs.
HEAD-TO-HEADS
Record v Cape Town Spurs: P24 W11 D6 L7 GF31 GA27
Record v Casric Stars: P0 W0 D0 L0 GF0 GA0
PLAYOFF FIXTURES
May 31: v Casric Stars (home)
June 3: v Cape Town Spurs (away)
June 10: v Casric Stars (away)
June 14: v Cape Town Spurs (home)
CAMPAIGN SO FAR
It has been a dismal season to date for a side that looks low on confidence and at one stage dead and buried in the scrap for survival. But five points from the last nine available, including a home win over Stellenbosch and that draw with Sundowns, lifted them from the foot of the table. Seven wins in 30 games tells its own story though, during which they managed only 24 goals, the second lowest in the top division. Nobody lost more than their 14 games that ended in defeat. Perhaps the relief of survival from automatic relegation will spur them on to better performances.
WHY THEY CAN WIN THE PLAYOFFS
Perhaps key is that they do have the best squad, on paper at least. That is not in doubt. Whether they can translate that into performances that earn them points, we will have to wait and see. They have been in this situation before, having played in the playoffs in 2018-19 when Eric Tinkler was at the helm, and ended up winning all four games as they cruised through the competition. A repeat of that seems unlikely, but they should still have enough in the tank to see it through.
THE COACH
Fadlu Davids is in his umpteenth spell as a head coach or assistant coach with the club having been drafted back in this season when John Maduka was axed. He had been co-coach at Orlando Pirates last season, fighting at the other end of the table. It would not be true to say he came in and transformed the team, but he has managed to grind out results and help them to the points they needed to at least avoid the automatic drop.
KEY PLAYER
Frenchman Amadou Soukouna has proven inconsistent this season, but at least is one player in the team who can make something out of nothing in an attacking sense. The team tends to be quite one-dimensional, but the forward has a bit of x-factor about him and has come up with some stunning goals. If they are looking to break down a stubborn defence, he can be the guy.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maritzburg only lost one of their final five games of the regular DStv Premiership season (W1 D3), but before that had a run of six defeats in seven (D1) in all competitions. So they have found some stability in recent times.