The 2022/23 DStv Premiership regular season has been completed with just the promotion/relegation playoffs to come, so it gives us time to assess the last nine months and all the ups and downs for the clubs.
We have put together an A-Z of the key points from the season.
AMAZULU – From the highs of a second place finish the season before last to finishing three points above the relegation zone. This was a difficult campaign for Usuthu and the question is, where to from here? Perhaps the arrival of an experienced coach will change things …
Caleb BIMENYIMANA – The Burundian forward largely struggled following his arrival at Kaizer Chiefs, but he did manage a rare feat when he netted a hattrick of penalties against Stellenbosch FC in a 3-1 win for his side. He scored seven league goals in all, four of them from 12-yards. There were also some misses along the way.
CENTURY club – Both Peter Shalulile from Mamelodi Sundowns and Bradley Grobler of SuperSport United reached 100 goals for Premier Soccer League clubs in this past season, joining a fairly exclusive list that is headed by Siyabonga Nomvethe with 123. Both will hope to catch him in the next year or two.
DRAWS – TS Galaxy and Marumo Gallants led the way with draws this season as they played out 14 stalemates each. AmaZulu (12), Sekhukhune United and Stellenbosch FC (10 each) were the only other sides into double-figures. Kaizer Chiefs’ five draws was their lowest number since the 2008/09 campaign and their record low in the PSL era.
ETIOSA Ighodaro – The Nigerian forward proved one of the revelations of the season with his 10 goals and the big question is what happens now at parent club Mamelodi Sundowns having helped Chippa United avoid relegation. It is only his second season in South Africa having played last term at second-tier University of Pretoria. There are some big decisions to be made around him.
Romain FOLZ – The Frenchman set a record as the youngest coach in the PSL when he took charge of Marumo Gallants at the start of the season aged 32. He left there after five games and was later appointed head coach at AmaZulu, before taking up a technical advisor role with the Durban-based side.
Marumo GALLANTS – What a difference a week makes. The Limpopo clubs went from playing for a place in the CAF Confederation Cup final to relegation in the matter of three days. Too many draws (14) cost them, they needed to turn just one of those into wins and they would have been safe.
Gavin HUNT – It had been a tough last few appointments for coach Gavin Hunt where he was handed difficult tasks at Kaizer Chiefs and Chippa United. But back ‘home’ at SuperSport United, where he won three league titles in a row between 2008 and 2010, he worked his magic again and got the team to perform above expectations, winning a place in the CAF Confederation Cup for next season. Hunt is back.
IQRAAM Rayners – The Stellenbosch FC forward was a revelation in the second half of the campaign following a January return to the club from SuperSport United, where he had scored five goals in 58 appearances. He ended the campaign with nine goals in 10 games in the league for Stellies, and 15 in 14 games in all competitions. What an impact!
JUNIOR Mendieta – The Argentine ace proved one of the most exciting players to watch in the season and the question now is whether Stellenbosch FC can hold on to him. His nine goals and numerous assists make him one of the best attackers in the league, and there will no doubt be plenty of clubs enquiring about his services.
KHANYISA Mayo – A breakthrough season for the Cape Town City winger-cum-forward, whose 12 goals means he is the joint winner of the Golden Boot along with Peter Shalulile from Mamelodi Sundowns. And he has signed a new three-year contract in the Mother City too.
LOSSES – Mamelodi Sundowns only endured two losses this past season, with SuperSport United the next best with seven defeats. Kaizer Chiefs had a club record 12, but the most defeated sides in the DStv Premiership this campaign were Chippa United and Maritzburg United, who were both beaten 14 times.
MAMELODI Sundowns – Utterly dominant in the league, they set new records for most wins in a row (15) and best goal-difference (+39) as they won the league by 16 points, matching their own best mark they set in the last campaign. They just seem to get better and better.
NOMINEES – The three nominees for PSL Footballer of the Season are the Mamelodi Sundowns duo of Ronwen Williams and Teboho Mokoena, and Orlando Pirates winger Monnapule Saleng. It is hard to argue with any of them being there, they were all immense through the campaign and deserve recognition.
ORLANDO Pirates – The Buccaneers finished runners-up but had a much-improved campaign under Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who had them firing in the second half of the season. They took 35 points from their final 15 games while Sundowns managed 33. A huge amount to build on for next term.
PLAYOFFS – Maritzburg United are back in the post-season playoffs as they go up against second-tier sides Cape Town Spurs and Casric Stars. The last time The Team of Choice were in the playoffs in 2018/19, they won all four games with coach Eric Tinkler at the helm, beating TTM and Royal Eagles.
QUESTIONS – Is there anyone who can rise and break the stranglehold that Mamelodi Sundowns have on the DStv Premiership? Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United showed glimpses this season, but to do it over 30 games is the challenge. It is unlikely that Sundowns’ level will drop off dramatically anytime soon.
RICHARDS Bay – The promoted side were in dreamland as they occupied second place in the league after 18 rounds, and looked odds on, for the very least, to take a top eight place. But they managed just two points from the next 36 and were sent freefalling down the table, eventually finishing only three points above the relegation places. The end of the season could not come fast enough for them.
Peter SHALULILE – This might not have been his best campaign as injuries played their part, but Shalulile has finished as top scorer in the DStv Premiership in three of the last four years. That is a remarkable show of consistency, even if two of those Golden Boot awards are shared. He finished with 12 goals in 2022/23, level with Khyanisa Mayo.
THE Birds – Swallows FC were in a relegation scrap going into the final month of the campaign, but a run of four successive victories saw them leap up into the top eight in a stunning change in fortunes. The arrival of Morgan Mammila as technical advisor to coach Musa Nyatama seemed to make the difference.
UNBEATEN – Apart from their stunning 15 wins in a row, Mamelodi Sundowns also went unbeaten in 24 league games to the end of the season, a number they will be able to build on in the new campaign. They last tasted defeat in the league in a 2-1 loss at SuperSport United on September 2, 2022. Coach Rhulani Mokwena has yet to taste a league defeat in sole charge of the side since he took over.
Record VICTORY run – Mamelodi Sundowns set a new DStv Premiership record when they completed a run of 15 victories in a row that was eventually ended by a 1-1 draw at Stellenbosch FC. It laid the platform for their sixth successive title and was a stunning show of dominance from the side. It beat their own previous record of 11 victories on the trot.
Ronwen WILLIAMS – The Sundowns goalkeeper set a new PSL record for clean sheets with 18, one better than the previous best mark of 17 by Pirates’ Moeneeb Josephs. Sundowns only conceded 13 goals in 30 games this term, a brilliant effort from their defence and keeper.
Thapelo XOKI – The Orlando Pirates defender was one of a number of new players at the club who fitted in superbly as he formed a solid central defensive partnership with Nkosinathi Sibisi. Often the move from the coast to Gauteng is filled with peril, but both adapted brilliantly after their transfers from AmaZulu and Lamontville Golden Arrows respectively.
YUSUF Maart – Goal of the Season will be hotly contested, but surely we can’t look past Yusuf Maart’s 60-yard winner for Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates. It was one of the great Derby goals of all time.
Arthur ZWANE – A tough first full season in charge of Kaizer Chiefs for the coach that included a club record 12 defeats in a 30-game PSL season, but they were in the hunt for second place right up until the final month. The fans appeared to turn against him as that dream died and the question is, ‘what next?’.