Siwelele’s battles in front of goal laid bare as they welcome AmaZulu

Siwelele have managed only 12 goals in 22 Betway Premiership fixtures so far this season as they prepare to host AmaZulu on Saturday, but are still most likely to beat the record for lowest number of goals in a topflight campaign.

Despite their troubles in front of goal, Siwelele are in 10th place in the league table because they have been almost equally as miserly at the back.

They have conceded only 16 times, for a total of 28 goals at either end in their 22 games, or 1.27 per match.

Only five different players have found the back of the net for Siwelele this season – Siviwe Magidigidi (four goals), Vincent Pule (three), Tebogo Potsane and Chibuike Ohizu (both two), and Kgaogelo Sekgota (one). They have since sold Magidigidi to Beerschot in Belgium.

But despite all of this, it will likely not cost them relegation unless the teams behind them go on an excellent run. In fact, a win on Saturday and they could move into the top eight.

Cape Town City did pay the price last season when they scored 15 goals, albeit in only 28 games during the shortened campaign due to the demise of Royal AM.

But we have seen worse in South Africa’s top flight. Jomo Cosmos were relegated in the 2007/08 season after scoring only 13 times in 30 matches.

Cosmos failed to score in 21 of their 30 matches that campaign, with five of those goals coming within three days of each other in a 2-2 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns and a 3-1 win over Moroka Swallows. They managed only eight goals in the other 28 fixtures.

Anthony Laffor scored five times for the side and Reneilwe Letsholonyane twice, with Nkosinathi Nhleko, back from playing overseas in the United States, Sweden and Norway, managing just one goal.

Cosmos and Tembisa Classic feature on the lowest-scorers list three times each, the most of any clubs.

More recently, Polokwane City had the worst attack in the 2023/24 Betway Premiership with only 21 goals scored, yet they finished eighth and qualified for the MTN8

Sekhukhune United were likewise poor in front of goal, with 21 scored in 2021/22, but ended 11th, while Bloemfontein Celtic managed only 16 in 2016/17, but that was still good enough for 12th place.

The ‘highest of the lowest’ for scorers in a 30-game PSL season was 26 by Bay United in 2008/09, considered a reasonably healthy amount these days. But it still left them bottom of the table and relegated.

FEWEST GOALS SCORED IN A PSL SEASON

OVER A 34-GAME SEASON

1996/97: Witbank Aces – 26

1997/98: Moroka Swallows – 30

1998/99: Dynamos – 20

1999/00: Mother City – 22

2000/01: Tembisa Classic – 26

2001/02: Tembisa Classic – 29

OVER A 30-GAME SEASON

2002/03: African Wanderers – 21

2003/04: Jomo Cosmos – 21

2004/05: Wits University – 24