Gatti Sports Reports SA

SOWETO DERBY VICTORY SEE PIRATES RETURN TO THE TOP! Photo by the Premier Soccer League The first Soweto derby of the season saw Kaizer Chiefs welcome their arch-rivals Orlando Pirates at the sold out FNB stadium today in a Betway Premier League title chasing encounter.  The visitors Orlando Pirates started the match with some fire in their system having dominated the match from kick-off until the final whistle. Tshepang Moremi opened the scoring in the 5th minute of the match after his shot defected off Chiefs striker Flavio da Silva.  Chiefs tried to break the Pirates defence on multiple occasions but Kamogelo Sebelebele, Lebone Seema, Nkosinathi Sibisi and Deon Hotto remained firm and ensured that their keeper Sipho Chaine doesn't concede any goal. Oswin Appolis doubled the Buccaneers advantage in the 39th minute after receiving a hard fought pass from Makhehleni Makhaula. The match went into the half-time break with Pirates having a 2-0 lead. Chiefs came into the second-hal...

PIRATES NEXT STEP! Photo by Orlando Pirates Football Club  Soweto giants Orlando Pirates experienced a major upset in their remaining domestic league cup where they were eliminated from the Nedbank Cup this past weekend in the round of 16 by Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars FC who defeated them 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. The loss to Casric was the Buccaneers second loss of the week with the first one in the Betway Premier League again Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday evening where the match ended 2-1. Apart from the Nedbank Cup elimination, Pirates enjoyed a good start to the season with the MTN8 and Carling Knockout trophies being secured.  The Buccaneers now only have the Betway Premier League to play for since being eliminated from the Nedbank Cup. Their next encounter is the Soweto derby this coming Saturday at the FNB stadium against Kaizer Chiefs.

SHOULD TSHEPO MASHILOANE STAY AT SEKHUKHUNE OR RETURN TO PIRATES? Life in the top flight for defender Tshepo Mashiloane who was signed by Orlando Pirates from Baroka FC started on a bad slate for the Mafefe born utility player. There were a lot of expectations from the Bucs faithful regarding Mashiloane who was seen as a versatile player who can be able to cover multiple positions which includes the center-back, Right-back, Right-midfield and right-wing back.  Mashiloane was quickly thrown in the deep ends by coach Abdeslam Ouaddou in the first few games of the seasons for the Buccaneers where he didn't play his level best. His performances in his 2 games for Pirates resulted in him being dropped to the grand stands and also making a loan move to Sekhukhune United for the rest of the season.  At Sekhukhune United, He didn't start by hitting the ground running. It took time for him to break into coach Eric Tinkler's match day squad. Since being given a chance to play at Babi...

WILL CARDOSO GET THE SACK AFTER NEDBANK DISAPPOINTMENT? Troubles for Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso keeps on piling up. The former Esperance de Tunis head coach is in his second season with the Chloorkop based outfit having taken over from now MC Alger head coach Rhulani Mokwena. Rhulani's sacking at Sundowns came as a result of failing to win the CAF Champions League.  Coach Cardoso's first season with the Motsepe football franchise resulted in him missing out on domestic league cups and only clinching the Betway Premier League title and also reaching the Champions League final but lost it to Pyramids FC. This season, Cardoso has been eliminated from all the South African domestic league cups once again. The Portuguese coach got eliminated from the MTN8, Carling Knockout and now recently the Nedbank Cup. The only silverware that are on offer is the Champions League and the Betway Premier League.  Will failing to deliver any domestic cup result in Sundowns showing Card...

CHIPPA SARS ISSUES TO MAKE THEM GO THROUGH THE SAME MAMKHIZE ROUTE? Photo by Chippa United Football Club The Premier Soccer League is once again in the spotlight for yet another SARS saga with a chairman of a Betway Premier League owing the South African Revenue Services monies.  Last season, Royal Am got expelled from the Betway Premier League with it's owner Shawn Mkhize having failed to settle her R40M SARS debt. Her failure to pay SARS, Her assets fell under curatorship with a fleet of cars and the Royal AM top flight status being taken away from her.  In the past few weeks, News broke that before Moroka Swallows sold their top flight status to Marumo Gallants, They were owing SARS R10M which Gallants inherited when they purchased Swallows.  Chippa United Chairman Siviwe Chippa Mpengesi is the latest football mogul to be in the spotlight after being reported by City Press to be owing SARS R53M.  Will Mpengesi be able to clear his his SARS debt or will his assets ...

ALL THE TEAMS THAT QUALIFIED FOR THE NEDBANK QUARTERFINALS! The Nedbank Cup round of 16 fixtures started with a single match this past Friday with Richards Bay FC hosting Amazulu at the Mhlathuze Sports Complex where the KZN derby was won by Amazulu with a 1-0 scoreline to advance to the quarterfinals.  Saturday evening came with huge upsets as Gauteng giants Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns were knockout out of the tournament by Mpumalanga based clubs TS Galaxy and Casric Stars. Sundowns had traveled to the Solomon Mahlangu stadium where they lost 2-0 to Galaxy. Pirates on the other hand welcomed Casric at the Orlando Amstel Arena where they were eliminated on penalties(5-4) after playing a 0-0 draw in extra time. The Mxolisi Dicky stadium saw Upington City FC host Durban City FC where their encounter ended 2-0 on penalties after the extra time didn't produce any goals. Lamontville Golden Arrows won 1-0 against Stellenbosch FC at the King Zwelithini stadium to advance.  ...

SUNDOWNS CLOSE DOWN THE GAP BETWEEN THEM AND PIRATES TO 3 POINTS! Photo By Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates squared off today at the FNB stadium in a heated top of the Betway Premier League clash as they race to clinch the league title. The Buccaneers had opted to use the FNB stadium rather than the Orlando Amstel Arena.  The match went in the favour of the visitors Mamelodi Sundowns who walked out of the encounter with a 2-1 victory and 3 valuable points. Masandawana got their goals in the first-half all scored by Colombian international Bryan Leon. The Buccaneers on the other hand got their consolation goal from Patrick Maswanganyi.  With a win recorded by Sundowns means they have narrowed down their gap between them and Pirates to now just 3 points with a game in hand also. Despite the loss, Pirates still top the table with 38 points in 17 matches while Downs also remaind in second with 35 points in 16 matches.  Now, Both Downs and ...

CHIEFS TO SAVE SEASON WITH BETWAY PREMIERSHIP TITLE? Photo By Kaizer Chiefs Football Club The 2025/26 season is starting to be another downward spiral for the mighty Kaizer Chiefs. The Soweto giants started the season with them not playing the MTN8 competition having not qualified after finishing in 9th position last season. The competitions that were on the table was the Carling Knockout Cup, CAF Confederations Cup (qualified due to winning last season's Nedbank Cup) The Betway Premier League and the Nedbank Cup. The chances of the them collecting more silverware started to shrink when they lost the Carling Knockout Cup in the quarterfinals, Another elimination in the Nedbank Cup in the quarterfinals and the most recent elimination being in the CAF Confederations Cup where they bowed out in the group stages. Chiefs now only have 1 competition to play for which is the Betway Premier League. They are currently fourth on the standings with 30 points in 15 matches. With their fo...

CTC TO MAKE A RETURN? Photo By Cape Town City Football Club   Cape Town City seem to be on the right track of their quest of returning to the Betway Premier League come the end of the season. The Citizens suffered relegation at the end of last season in the Premier Soccer League relegation/promotion play-offs which paved the way for Orbit College FC who earned a spot in the South African top flight.  City had a tough start to their debut season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship having failed to pick up maximum in the opening 5 matches. Their fortunes quickly turned around after bolstering their squad with former TS Galaxy winger Keagan Dolly, Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Miguel Timm, Former Cape Town Spurs striker Therlo Moosa and another TS Galaxy man in Dzenan Zajmović. Therlo Moosa is also leading the Championship goal scoring charts with 8 goals so far. Currently the John Comitis owned side is in third position with 32 points in 18 matches which sees them trailin...

ZINCHENKO INJURY UPDATE! IMAGO In the game of football, One thing a player, coach or the club management wouldn't want being men short at the beginning of the season or in the middle of the season. Former Manchester City and Arsenal Oleksandr Zinchenko who is still fresh from signing a deal with Eredivisie side Ajax Amsterdam was struck by a misfortune with him sustaining an injury just 3 minutes into his second Ajax match yesterday. The Ukrainian was forced to walk off the pitch in a match turned out to be a victory for his new side where they won 4-1 against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie.  Ajax provided an update on Zinchenko stating that he "has been ruled out for an extended period". It is not really clear when will the 29-year old return to playing but reports suggest that he will miss the remainder of the season.  With Zinchenko having signed a short-term deal until the end of the season, Will he quickly come back from injury and give Ajax a reason to give him a...

MOJELA'S BRACE SENDS SEKHUKHUNE TO THIRD ON THE LOG!                                  Photo By Sekhukhune United Football Club  The only Betway Premier League match of today saw a battle of a league title chasing side Sekhukhune United host relegation threatened Orbit College FC at the New Peter Mokaba stadium. Babina Noko (Sekhukhune) were aiming to get back to the top three having dropped to fifth in the last few games. Sekhukhune had a better start to the season with them being on top of the log at some point. The same thing can't be said when it pertains Orbit College FC who have had an awful start to their debut season in the top flight after winning the promotional play-offs last season.  The match didn't take long to see the first goal as it was scored by Lehlohonolo Mojela assisted by Shaun Mogaila giving Sekhukhune the lead in the second minute of the game. The visitors Orbit tried on...