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pride only prize

20100221VNH. Mandla Masango of Kaizer Chiefs fight for the ball with Lucas Thwala and Lucky Lekgwathi of Orlando Pirates during their Absa Premiership match at Orlando Stadium.PHOTO:VELI NHLAPO
20100221VNH. Mandla Masango of Kaizer Chiefs fight for the ball with Lucas Thwala and Lucky Lekgwathi of Orlando Pirates during their Absa Premiership match at Orlando Stadium.PHOTO:VELI NHLAPO

WITH the league champions already confirmed, the curtain will finally come down on the 2009-10 season tomorrow.

Many of the clubs will be playing only for pride.

Kaizer Chiefs, who did well at the beginning of the season and had experts touting them for their first league title since the 2004-05 season, were among the season's biggest disappointments.

Their match against Free State Stars at Loftus Stadium will have no bearing on their position on the log.

Some of their players have described their third-place finish as "not bad", citing the time it took to adapt to new coach Vladimir Vermezovic's methods among the reasons for their failure to win the league.

They should be happy with their standing on the log because any team, especially a big one such as Chiefs, which fails to beat other big teams, does not deserve to win the league.

Amakhosi could manage only two goalless draws against Orlando Pirates, lost one and drew one against both Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns, and lost twice to champions SuperSport United.

They will want to complete their own double against Stars, whom they beat 1-0 in the first leg. With a top 10 finish (never mind the top eight) well out of their reach, Stars will truly be playing for pride. This is a far cry from their fourth-place finish last season.

They will rely on the likes of Ruben Cloete and Sthembiso Ngcobo, while Vermezovic will most likely give youngsters such as George Lebese and Mandla Masango a run.

Other fixtures for tomorrow are:

Harry Gwala Stadium: Maritzburg United vs Santos; Super: Sundowns vs Lamontville Golden Arrows; Moses Mabhida: AmaZulu vs SS United, Milpark: Bidvest Wits vs Platinum Stars; Seisa Ramabodu: Bloemfontein Celtic vs Pirates. All matches kick off at 3.30pm.

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