Modisane: Pirates Carrying Mzansi Flag

 

06 April 2013

CAF Champions League: Orlando Pirates v Zanaco   
Venue: FNB Stadium
Time: 20h15
Channel: SABC1

Orlando Pirates go into their first round second leg game against Zanaco with the upper hand, following their 1-0 away win in the first leg.
The Buccaneers are going through a rough patch at the moment, as their last win in the league was against Platinum Stars on February 20, but the club’s CAF Champions League run has been impressive. Pirates have won all their games in the competition so far.
Roger de Sa and his team know that the only way to please their fans is by winning against the Zambian side to advance to the second round.
Pirates’ PRO Mickey Modisane is calling the country’s football followers to support the team in their campaign.
“Our message to all the South African football fans is to come to the stadium and support the team. Orlando Pirates is carrying the flag of Mzansi in the Champions League, irrespective of the club one supports. They must come with one objective, to see a South African team breaking boundaries to proceed to the other stages of this competition. Tickets can be purchased from Computicket and Shoprite Checkers outlets. Gates will open at 17: 00 with the game starting at 20: 15 pm. Tickets will also be sold at the stadium’s ticket office,” said Modisane.

First leg result:
Pirates:  1 (Ndumiso Mabena)
Zanaco: 0

Players to watch:
Pirates: Takesure Chinyama
Zanaco: Davies Mwape       

Should Baxter Get Punished?

 

06 April 2013

Although the fiery 0-0 Absa Premiership draw between Kaizer Chiefs and Golden Arrows provided many talking points it was the venomous post match comments of Amakhosi coach Stuart Baxter that are likely to spark the liveliest debates amongst the South African football fraternity.
The Scot’s post-match rant prompted a hasty apology from the coach himself as well as the broadcaster but it remains to be seen whether he will escape without further punishment.
Following referee Lwandile Mfiki’s puzzling decision to send off Reneilwe Letsholonyane during the match at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Baxter and Manqoba Mngqithi were involved in a heated exchange on the touchline.
Footage revealed that Abafana Bes’thende’s mentor had sworn at Baxter and after the game the Chiefs coach refused to shake his adversary’s hand.
This prompted an angry response from Mngqithi who suggested that Baxter should “go to hell”, but his comment paled in comparison to Baxter’s words a moment later.
“I don’t shake the hands of coaches that tell me to f*** off. We can have little arguments and we can have views on the referee’s decisions but when a coach walks towards me and tells me that, then I don’t shake his hand,” said the former Bafana Bafana coach.
Even though it was an emotionally charged affair should Baxter be punished for his use of a swear word on televison

Starting XI: Arrows v Chiefs

06 April 2013

Absa Premiership
Teams: Arrows - Chiefs
Date: 06 April
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium
Kaizer Chiefs have a chance to further extend their lead at the top of the Absa Premiership when they take on Golden Arrows at the Moses Mabhida Stadium today.
The Amakhosi currently hold a seven point advantage over defending champions Orlando Pirates who are not in action today due to CAF Champions League commitments.
Stuart Baxter’s men come into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw with Maritzburg United midweek although they will be buoyed by the R1.5 million cash injection received for winning Q3.
Meanwhile, Abafana Bes’thende improved their chances of staying in the top flight when they fought back from a goal down to defeat Chippa United 2-1 on Wednesday.
That result snapped a three match winless streak whilst the draw Chiefs secured on the same night was their 12^th match without defeat.
Arrows: Gumede, Sikhakhane, Sithole, Nene, Tom, Nguzana, Bilankulu, Khuboni, Liphoko, Gabuza, Smith.
Chiefs: Khune, Gaxa, Gould, Mashamaite, Masilela, Lebese, Letsholonyane, Nkosi, Tshabalala, Majoro, Parker.

Eintracht Frankfurt - Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich wrapped up the Bundesliga title with a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Commerzbank Arena.

Unsurprisngly, with the title there for the winning, Bayern took the early initiative, with Mario Gomez, Arjen Robben and David Alaba all finding space down the wings, but the first effort of note came from Frankfurt as Takashi Inui fired over from distance.

The visitors, however, were certainly the team on top. Some neat build-up play from Robben and Thomas Muller presented Xherdan Shaqiri with the chance to shoot, and the Swiss youngster's long-range effort rattled the post.

In the 26th minute, Bayern was presented with a golden opportunity to take an early lead. Marco Russ' shove on Thomas Muller saw the referee point to the spot, but Alaba's penalty was a poor one, striking the post en route to going wide.

The miss almost proved costly. Within seconds, a fantastic last-ditch challenge from Jerome Boateng prevented Inui from running clear.

Jupp Heynckes' side came out with renewed intensity after the restart, with Gomez forcing the ball to Robben under heavy pressure, only for the Dutchman to miss from a matter of yards.

But their wastefulness did not continue. Philipp Lahm found some space down the right and fed Schweinsteiger, who flicked it brilliantly into the net at the near post.

Despite only trailing by one goal, Frankfurt had no sort of impetus until late on. Indeed, Manuel Neuer was not forced into a save of note until the hour mark, when he was forced to get down to save Inui's tame long-range strike.

The Bavarians were almsot forced to put the champagne on ice 10 minutes from time when Stefan Aigner's ball found Srdjan Lakic unmarked, but Neuer was alert enough to make a brilliant save.

The former Schalke keeper made another great block second later after a goalmouth scramble following a corner, ensuring that Schweinsteiger's strike was enough for the title.

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Bayern Clinch title

BERLIN, April 6 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich won their 22nd Bundesliga title in record time on Saturday by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 to open up an unassailable 20-point lead with six games left in the season.
The Bavarians ended the two-year reign of Borussia Dortmund by clinching the title faster than any club in the Bundesliga's 50-year history. It was also Bayern's 23rd German league title in all.
Bastian Schweinsteiger beautifully flicked the ball into the net with a backheel in the 52nd minute to lift Bayern to 75 points, 20 ahead of second-placed Dortmund, who beat Augsburg 4-2.
Bayern are chasing an unprecedented treble for a German club, with the Champions League and German Cup also up for grabs.
Fresh from their 2-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over Juventus, Bayern should have scored much earlier, with Xherdan Shaqiri rattling the post with a low shot in the 10th minute.
David Alaba sent his penalty to the exact same spot 15 minutes later as Bayern showed some nerves.
Schweinsteiger made sure of their 11th straight league win this year with his seventh goal of the campaign, flicking in a superb Philipp Lahm cross to ease the tension.
Keeper Manuel Neuer needed to come to the rescue late in the game as Frankfurt, battling for a Champions League spot, poured forward.
Dortmund rested seven key players ahead of their own Champions League quarter-final second leg against Malaga next week, but had little trouble easing past Augsburg despite briefly trailing 2-1.
Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski sealed their victory with his 21st goal of the campaign after a Julian Schieber double.
Fourth-placed Schalke 04 kept their own Champions League hopes alive after beating Werder Bremen 2-0 with goals from Julian Draxler and Ciprian Marica to move up to 45 points, four behind Bayer Leverkusen, who drew 1-1 against VfL Wolfsburg.