Larsen Back At Celtic
As Middendorp Gets The Boot
Bloemfontein Celtic have announced the sacking of Ernst
Middendorp, with Clinton Larsen back in charge. Siwelele were held
to a goalless draw by Moroka Swallows today – a result which saw them slip down
to 10th place in the Absa Premiership standings. It was also their fourth
consecutive game without scoring. Middendorp took over at Celtic last year,
having also coached Kaizer Chiefs, Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United in South
Africa. Larsen now takes over, with Lehlohonolo Seema his assistant and Simon
Gopane the goalkeeper coach.
AmaZulu goalkeeper
Siya Mngoma faces a spell on the sidelines with a suspected fractured right
arm. Mngoma, who joined Usuthu from Thanda Royal Zulu on a three-year deal
in June, hurt himself when punching a ball in his side’s 1-1 draw with
KwaZulu-Natal rivals Maritzburg United on Friday. The 26-year-old admits the
setback is hard to take after being handed his club debut ahead of Tapuwa
Kapini, who conceded three goals against Mpumalanga Black Aces the weekend
before. Mngoma, however, has vowed to come back strongly and regain the trust
of coach Steve Barker. Mngoma joins John Arwuah and Marc van Heerden on the
treatment table at the Durban-based oufit.
Cape Town Roses were
crowned 2014 Sasol League National champions on Sunday, 14 December 2014 at the
Isaac Wolfson stadium in Port Elizabeth. Roses beat three times champions,
Palace Super Falcons 2-1 to clinch the title for the first time. The team from
Cape Town put on an impressive display on the day. A second half brace by
former Banyana Banyana player, Nocawe Skiti handed Roses the trophy, while
second half substitution, Gugu Gabuza got the goal for Falcons. Both teams had not
lost in any of their matches leading to the final.
Bafana Bafana will
start their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations preparations with a friendly against
Zambia on January 4. The match will be played at Orlando Stadium and will
give coach Shakes Mashaba a better idea of what his team will look like for the
showpiece tournament in Equatorial Guinea. Bafana last played Chipolopolo in
July 2013 in the Cosafa Cup. After a 0-0 draw, the South Africans lost 5-3 on
penalties. Zambia famously beat Ivory Coast in the Final of the 2012 Nations
Cup.
Moroka Swallows
have signed former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Mthokozisi Yende.The 30-year-
old had been on trial at the club, but
the move looked to have fallen through due to financial disagreements. It all
seems to have worked out well though, with Yende now being free to play for the
struggling Birds. He was last in action for Free State Stars, having also
featured for Tembisa Classic, University of Pretoria, Chiefs and Maritzburg
United.
Ajax Cape Town have
rejected talk that on-loan winger Keagan Dolly will return to Mamelodi Sundowns
in January – despite the powers-that-be at Chloorkop believing that is the
case. A Sundowns official revealed that the 21-year-old – who signed for
the Brazilians earlier in the season before being loaned back – would report
for duty in Tshwane in January. However,
Ajax boss Ari Efstathiou insists that is not the case.
Wilfred Mugeyi has confirmed his departure from AmaZulu following the
appointment of Steve Barker as the new coach. Mugeyi initially served as
assistant coach to Craig Rosslee before taking over for six games on a
caretaker basis when Rosslee was fired as Usuthu’s struggles continued.
However, with Barker’s appointment Mugeyi was moved aside and has now left the
club. Barker has been working with Ronnie Moroka as his assistant since his
arrival at the end of last month.
Former Orlando
Pirates and Bidvest Wits defender Thando Mdluli has joined First Division club
Highlands Park. Since leaving Pirates three years Mdluli’s career hasn’t
progressed much with most of his time spent having trials. Steve Haupt, the
Highlands coach, confirmed the signing of Mdluli along with Serbian-born Dino
Ramic.
Free State Stars striker Abdul Adam Basit hopes to make his return in the club’s
final game of the year against Platinum Stars at Goble Park on 20 December.
Basit, who is nursing a muscle strain, has been limited to only three
substitute outings this season due to a combination of injury and illness. The
Ghanaian has nevertheless scored twice courtesy of a brace against Moroka
Swallows, and naturally he is hungry for more game-time.
Zimbabwean striker Nyasha Mushekwi is
back training with Mamelodi Sundowns’ first team after recovering from injury,
but is hoping for a move away from the club in the January transfer window.
Mushekwi picked up a knee ligament injury during a loan spell at Belgian outfit
KV Oostende last season, and was not registered by Sundowns due to the foreign
quota limitation. The 27-year-old will therefore not see any game-time this
season as the club has already exhausted its foreign quota with five foreigners
already registered. Word is that Sundowns want to entice Mushekwi into a new
deal which stretches beyond his current contract running out in June, before allowing
him to leave in January, preferably on loan. Mushekwi still has another option
of possibly returning to Belgium being pursued by his handlers. The striker has
an impressive record of 40 goals in 53 starts for The Brazilians.
Shakes Mashaba will be hoping the
Estadio de Mongomo in Equatorial Guinea will undergo some major improvement
before the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off next month. Bafana Bafana play
all three their Group C matches at the venue – against Algeria (January 19),
Senegal (January 23) and Ghana (January 27). However, a look at the stadium and
pitch reiterates the concerns that were raised when the country was first
announced as the replacement hosts. When Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the
tournament in 2012, only two venues were used, but Mongomo was added this time
around to accommodate the 16 teams.
Platinum Stars have broken the bank to land the signature of highly-rated
Zambian Reynold Kampamba. The Chipolopolo striker was also on the wanted
list of SuperSport United and two teams from both Israel and France, but
Dikwena have done enough to convince Kampamba to relocate to South Africa next
year January. According to a source close to the deal, the 22-year-old’s team
Nkana FC have accepted Stars’ offer. The 22-year-old has scored 19 goals in all
competitions for Nkana this year and was the 2013 FAZ Super Division Golden
Boot winner with 18 goals last year.
Mpumalanga Black Aces have cancelled Mbulelo Mabizela’s
contract after the defender suffered a fall-out with head coach Clive Barker.
Aces severed ties with Mabizela based on the recommendations of a disciplinary
enquiry held on 28 October. Aces chairman Mario Morfou expressed disappointment
at the turn of events. The former Bafana Bafana captain only played in the
club’s first game of the season, a 4-0 MTN8 loss to eventual cup champions
Kaizer Chiefs.
Mamelodi Sundowns’ unwanted defender
Method Mwanjali remains in the dark at Chloorkop, and this time Eskom are not
to blame. Mwanjali was pushed to train alone in the gym after failing to
clinch a move away from the club prior to the closure of the previous transfer
window after it became apparent that he was not in the plans for this season.
The 31-year-old spent last season at Mpumalanga Black Aces, playing 21 games.
The steady defender still has a contract with the Brazilians up to the end of
the season but is keen on a move away in January which Sundowns should
naturally be open to.
Bidvest Wits have handed Zimbabwean striker Fransisco Zekumbawire a trial as
they look at the possibility of bolstering their forward line. Zekumbawire
is currently training with the Clever Boys with intention to impress coach
Gavin Hunt. The striker is currently on the books of Harare City. Mike Ngobeni, who brought Zekumbawire
to South Africa, confirms the presence of the player at Wits training. Meanwhile, Wits have decided against
selling their captain Sibusiso Vilakazi, who will remain with the club until
the end of the season. Vilakazi had
been linked with a number of teams overseas, including Portugal. However, the
Bafana Bafana midfielder has opted to remain with Wits until the end of the
season.
Kaizer Chiefs have
set the record for the highest points tally at the halfway stage of the season
since the league was narrowed down to 16 teams in 2002/03. They have now
surpassed their own mark of 36 points set in the first 15 games of the 2003/04
season, on their way to being crowned champions with 63 points under Ted
Dumitru. Amakhosi have also
overtaken Orlando Pirates, who had 33 points under Kosta Papic after 15 games
during the 2004/05 season, having won nine and drawing six during an unbeaten
run which eventually stretched to 17 games.
Former Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates striker Terror Fanteni is now
training with Moroka Swallows. The 30-year-old was until recently
training with Maritzburg United, but he wasn’t offered a deal and he has now
moved on to the Dube Birds to try out for a contract. Meanwhile, former
Under-17 national team coach Simon Ngomane is apparently set to become a part
of Swallows’ technical team to assist Fani Madida, but the club has confirmed
nothing at this stage.
Bidvest Wits CEO Jose
Ferreira has lashed out at local agents for linking certain players with a move
to his club with the intention of increasing their market value. The
Students have been linked with a number of players ahead of the January
transfer window, including Black Leopards midfielder Siphelele Ntshangase and
Polokwane City striker Puleng Tlolane. But Ferreira assures says that they have
not spoken to any clubs or agents.
Despite Safa
announcing that they have agreed to retain Vera Pauw as the Banyana Banyana
coach, the Dutch coach has yet to agree terms and put pen to paper. Pauw
was appointed as the Banyana coach in March this year and led the team to a
fourth-placed finish at the recent Africa Women’s Championship held in Namibia;
falling just short of qualifying for the Fifa Women’s World Cup. Despite this,
the Safa national executive committee agreed in a meeting held on Saturday, 6
December to retain the services of the former Netherlands international. It has
been established that Pauw has yet to put pen to paper. The 51-year-old is
currently in the Netherlands and will be meeting Safa before the end of this
week to solely discuss her “working conditions” before deciding whether to sign
a new contract. If both parties do not agree terms they could still part ways.
Forgotten defender
Joseph Henyekane insists he still hasn’t given up on reviving his professional
career despite currently playing for the SAPS. Henyekane is being forced to
sweat it out in the amateur ranks with a South African Police Service team back
home in Kimberley. The 30-year-old has faced up to some difficulties in recent
times with his last contract having been at Roses United last season following
his return from a self-imposed sabbatical. Joseph is the younger brother of
Free State Stars forward Richard Henyekane.
Mpumalanga Black Aces
goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane will be hosting his annual soccer tournament in
his home village of Moletjie Ga-Rametloana, Limpopo. The tournament will
see 16 teams in total; eight Under-17 and eight senior teams challenging each
other in a round-robin format. Rather
than the focus being on winning, Mabokgwane seeks to foster community participation
while providing exposure and mentorship to local youth. The former School of Excellence product, who
earned his first international cap for Bafana Bafana during the recent Nelson
Mandela Challenge, gave credit to his club for supporting his initiative this
year.
Jackson Mabokgwane Soccer Tournament
Date: 25-28 December 2014
Venue: All Stars FC sports ground, Moletjie Ga-Rametloana
Entrance: R10
South African winger Sive Phekezela has parted ways with Swedish top-flight
side Gefle, bringing to an end a disappointing spell at the club. The
22-year-old has had a season ravaged by injury in 2014 and the club have
decided not to extend his contract. Phekezela, who came through the ASD Academy
at the same time as Ayanda Patosi, did not make a single appearance in the
recently completed season as he battled with a succession of injuries. In all
he made just three starts and a further 12 substitute appearances while at
Gefle, though he did get to play in the UEFA Europa League in the 2013/14
installment of that competition. The Swedish club was Phekezela’s second in
Europe, he also had a spell at Belgian side Germinal Beerschot but did not make
any first team appearances for them. Born in Gugulethu, Phekezela has also been
on the junior books of Vasco da Gama and FC Cape Town.
South African players abroad
Dean Furman missed Doncaster Rovers’
League One loss to Gillngham through injury, though it is not thought to be
serious and he should be back for Saturday’s trip to Swindon Town.
Darren Keet ended
his run of over 400 minutes without conceding a goal when he let in three
against Genk to lose 3-0.
Anele Ngcongca
won the bragging rights over Bafana teammate Keet when his Genk side ended the
excellent run of Kortrijk in the Belgian league on Saturday with a 3-0 success.
And he was quick to let the world know on Twitter too…
Thulani Serero
scored his first goal of the season when he grabbed the opener for Ajax
Amsterdam in an easy 3-1 success over Utrecht.
Not a good week for Andile
Jali whose Oostende side were well beaten 3-0 by Anderlecht. He played the
full game.
Kamohelo Mokotjo
played in Sunday’s 2-0 away loss to PSV Eindhoven that just about ends FC
Twente’s title hopes for this season before Christmas.
Ayanda Patosi played
the full game as Lokeren were disappointingly beaten 1-0 at Zulte-Waregem.
Dani Amos, the
Hapoel Tel Aviv goalkeeper, who hopes to play for Bafana, returned from three
weeks out injured to play in Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Maccabi Petah Tikva.
Kgosi Ntlhe played
for Peterborough United as they won 2-1 at Leyton Orient – their first victory
in seven games.
Nhlakanipho Ntuli came off late for Jong FC Twente (youth) on Friday night
as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Sparta Rotterdam.
Andrew Surman played
for Bournemouth as they moved to the top of the English Championship with a 5-3
win over Kagisho Dikgacoi’s Cardiff City. Neither the latter nor Tokelo Rantie
of Bournemouth played in the game through injury.
Michael Travis made
his debut for new club Montrose in the Scottish fourth tier as they lost 2-1 at
home to Queen’s Park. It is the third side he has played for this season after
being released by Arbroath and then being fielded as a trialist by Forfar
Athletic.