Rise & Shine await tricky Arrows task

The high-flying Polokwane City will hope to keep up with the pace set by Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates at the top of the Betway Premiership table when they take on Golden Arrows at the Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday.

Kick-off is at 3:30pm (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

Sitting in 3rd position on the table, Polokwane City find themselves in an unfamiliar position after 11 matches played in the league.

While they hold a lofty position on the log, Polokwane City will head into their next encounter on the back two consecutive victories, one of which was a 2-0 win against Kaizer Chiefs on the 8th of December.

Rise & Shine were 1-0 victors against Marumo Gallants last time out as Mokibelo Ramabu’s solitary strike in the 20th minute separated the two sides at the Peter Mokaba Stadium last Sunday.

Arrows on the other hand, have been struggling to stitch positive results together in the last couple of weeks. Abafana Bes’thende’s inconsistent form includes two wins, two losses and one stalemate in their last five league encounters.

As it stands, Arrows sit in 7th position going into this weekend’s list of Betway Premiership action.

WHAT WAS SAID

Following the departure of Mabhuti Khenyeza, Arrows co-coach Musa Bilankulu refused to pin Khenyeza’s absence as the reason for their 1-0 loss against Richards Bay last week.

"I don't want to say the impact [of Khenyeza's absence] lead to the result because, we could see even in the team's preparations, everyone was working very hard and looking good," Bilankulu said.

"So I cannot falter the players or anyone in the technical team, we tried our best and this was our best, if we can say that, but I still believe we could have won the game, it was so unfortunate that we couldn't even convert the chances we created in the second half."

With Polokwane City mixing it up with the league’s big boys, coach Phuti Mohafe believes that squad depth wont be an issue for the rest of the campaign.

“And as for the structure, I think we are well man we are okay. We are okay. So, the depth that we are having it’s also good,” Mohafe said.

“We didn’t miss Manuel Kambala and Ndamulelo Maphangule that much because when you check both of the sets, they play differently. The Kambala and Maphangule, they play different to the way these two has played.

“You check the speed element between the two sets, you check the passing element between the two sets. So, you can say our plan to bring these two and the forced substitute that we had [against Gallants], they helped us because we didn’t realise that we have something good on the bench, but we have a good depth.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Golden Arrows: Ryan Moon – Despite blanking in his most recent outing, Moon will be eager to maintain his positive goalscoring record in the league this weekend. The experienced striker currently has three goals to his name in three Premier League matches played so far and will once again be handed the responsibility to produce the goods on Saturday afternoon.

Polokwane City: Sammy Seabi – Likened to Arsenal legend Patrick Viera, Seabi has been a consistent performer for Rise & Shine this season. With Polokwane City known for their attractive possession-based style of play under Mohafe, Seabi will no doubt be at the heart of everything this weekend.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Last five league results

2018/19 Polokwane City 2-0 Golden Arrows

2019/20 Golden Arrows 2-1 Polokwane City

2019/20 Polokwane City 1-1 Golden Arrows

2023/24 Golden Arrows 3-2 Polokwane City

2023/24 Polokwane City 0-1 Golden Arrows