SOWETAN SAYS | Clubs need to close the Downs gap

The PSL season came to a thrilling conclusion with Orlando Pirates lifting the Nedbank Cup after beating Mamelodi Sundowns in last Saturday’s final.

We congratulate Pirates for clinching the R7m first prize competition at Mbombela Stadium, with teen star Relebohile Mofokeng netting a late winner to secure them a 2-1 victory.

Pirates have now bagged themselves two cups from this season after last year’s MTN8 triumph over the selfsame Sundowns.

While we must acknowledge Pirates’ success, we can’t overlook the fact that the DStv Premiership season was again another one-horse race, with the second-placed Buccaneers trailing champions Sundowns by 23 points in the league standings.

The gap Sundowns have opened as they sauntered to a seventh league title in a row has become too wide for the rest of the Premiership. This is deeply worrying, especially because Sundowns won the league with about seven rounds of fixtures to go.

Pirates, despite finishing second, are one of the teams who were expected to give Masandawana a challenge in the league, but they fell disappointingly short due to lack of consistency in the first round.

The cup wins have made Pirates fans boisterous, but they cannot disguise the fact that Sundowns are in a league of their own. It has been 12 years since Pirates tasted league success and, for a team of such stature, that barren spell should be deemed unacceptable. It has also been five years since they were anywhere near the top of the standings, when they lost the league on the final day to Sundowns in 2019.

In the subsequent period Pirates finished second twice, but that can’t be cause for celebration because of the huge points advantage Sundowns have. The goal for Jose Riveiro, the Pirates coach who will be starting his third year at the helm next season, should be how to bridge that gap.

Riveiro has won four trophies with Pirates thus far, a great return for any new coach, but when the action returns in August, he will no longer be deemed a newbie. He should devise a plan to catch up with Sundowns. The same goes for other Premiership teams who have sadly allowed our league to become one of the most predictable around.

In particular, big teams like Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs should do more to challenge the status quo, and not draw excessive satisfaction from winning four-match cup competitions.