Polokwane City head coach Phuti Mohafe insists they should not longer feel threatened by their Betway Premiership rivals as he prepares for the trip to the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium against SuperSport United on Friday, January 17.
Kick-off is at 7:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Current form:
Rise And Shine have made an impressive start to the season, winning six of their opening 13 matches to emerge as challengers for a CAF berth going into the new year.
Mohafe's side handed Mamelodi Sundowns their first defeat of the 2024-25 campaign on October 27, while they also took points off Stellenbosch (a 1-1 draw) and Kaizer Chiefs (a 2-0 win) before the turn of the year.
The Limpopo outfit played out to a 1-1 draw with fellow top-three contenders Sekhukhune United on January 5 which extended their unbeaten run in the league to five games and kept them in third place.
However, Babina Noko pushed them down to fourth spot with a 3-0 victory over Matsatsantsa on January 12 and the two northern province rivals are separated by just one point in the standings.
Matsatsantsa 🆚 Rise & Shine tomorrow in the #BetwayPrem ⚽️
— SuperSport United FC (@SuperSportFC) January 16, 2025
Ticket available: https://t.co/Z9O3fuO2KQ
🎟️Adults - R60
🎟️Children - R20 (Children under 12 years)#MatsatsantsaUnified pic.twitter.com/GaPAuow7WR
SuperSport had started to gain some momentum after a 1-1 stalemate with Stellies on December 28 made it three matches unbeaten as they'd recorded back-to-back 1-0 wins against Richards Bay and Magesi prior to that.
But Gavin Hunt's side kicked off 2025 on a disappointing note with the loss to Sekhukhune - their fifth defeat of the season - and they have slipped down to 10th position, level on 16 points with AmaZulu (9th) and Stellenbosch (8th).
What was said:
Polokwane City head coach Phuti Mohafe
"We have great quality in the team and great depth in this team. I think we shouldn't be undermined anymore.
"We just need to see Polokwane with more depth. So we have depth and quality, and no-one is not replaceable. Everyone in the team can be replaced.
"Whoever undermines me undermines the team, undermines what we are doing with the team."
Players to watch:
SuperSport United - Samir Nurkovic made his debut against Babina Noko, although he didn't have much of an impact, steering a tame header straight at the goalkeeper from a corner in the first half.
The Serbian striker played the full 90 minutes and he is likely to get another chance against Rise And Shine after Tashreeq Morris was sent off in that encounter and will serve a one-game suspension.
Polokwane City - Raymond Daniels is beginning to establish himself in the team since making the switch from Hungry Lions in July.
The 31-year-old striker was handed his fifth start of the campaign against Sekhukhune and got off the mark with the opener on 35 minutes, although the goal was fortuitous after Tresor Tshibwabwa kicked the ball into him in an attempt to make a clearance.
Head-to-Head: (Last Five Betway Premiership Meetings)
Matches - 5
SuperSport wins - 1
Polokwane wins - 1
Draws - 3