ALMOST HALFWAY THERE, IS YOUR HORSE STILL IN THE RACE?
It is Sir Alex Ferguson time once again as we slowly approach the halfway mark in the 2015/16 season and many points will be lost or picked up in these final two or three weekends before the season break. Vishen Jagdev did prove last season that every game counts and anyone can turn the corner if they keep their eyes fixated on the ball and yes a little luck is also needed. Port Elizabeth will be very busy this weekend with matches across all Divisions in the National League. The Assassin fresh from a hard fought double win in the KZN against Yulan and Kyle (In Jane’s absence) will be brimming with confidence when he takes on a wounded Sbu Gumede who really needs the points but like anyone else in the BPL, he doesn’t need any sympathy and he surely can hold his ground. It is a jungle out there and only the brave will survive, if you want some, you go out there and get yourself some. Aden will have all of Saturday to meditate on his match against Sbu on Sunday, many will expect the Wonderkid to build on the momentum after the historic much awaited win against Hawkeye but Sbu is no walkover, in fact Chilies is the country’s most underrated player by far but I can tell you now that if he goes out there and bags the double against Charl and Aden, that will be by no means an upset. Sbu is not only lethal, he is quick and he has a very sharp eye and he is the only player that was both trained and groomed to fruition by Yulan. Gumede will have to travel to PE on Saturday and to Bloemfontein on Sunday but perhaps he will be suffering from vertigo by the time he gets to Aden and that could make the job easier for the triple champion. Keegan says that being at the bottom feels like being in quicksand and the more you fight it, the deeper you sink, I hope Aden doesn’t read this.
Charl will take on Vishen on Sunday and this will once again define whether or not the Assassin is the same guy that took the nation by storm in 2013, Vish beat Paul and Sbu in his last two matches and the last time he was in PE, he and Nsovo beat Charl and cost him the title. I don’t know if it’s just me or does anybody else think that Vishen with his new found mojo might just be the new kid on the block and perhaps we need to start believing that he deserves his spot in the BPL. If Vishen gets hurt in PE he will have himself to blame since he is the one that fired the first shot last season and Charl will definitely be out for revenge. Deputy Sheriff Sophakama Sophie Zingani will be at hand to give us live updates from PE to make sure we don’t miss any part of the action.
In Joburg Nsovo and Sandile will keep the crowds entertained this Sunday at Dejavous in a must watch match. There are a lot of similarities in the accolades accumulated by these two super talents. They have both dominated the U23s, they have won the Provincial titles countless times and they have always been regular features in the Protea squad, of course Sandile has also won the World U23 Title, but that’s all in past and we are talking about the here and now and it is all happening in the BPL. This match will in fact be a good litmus test of who is really who in the jungle between Sandile and Nsovo and it will get them in good shape for Cape Town seeing that they have been lying idle for a while. They are lying 8th and 9th on the log respectively and their fate for the first half will be sealed a fortnight from now in the mother city against Paul and Ace.
In the First Division Keegan will be taking on Azim the magician at Timeout but the way Keegza has been playing lately, I don’t see the magician pulling anything out of any hat but perhaps the beard gives Azim an unfair advantage. If you take a closer look there seems to be a furrow made by the cue on the beard and perhaps it helps in the potting. Azim will want to win this to escape the red zone but the more experienced Keegza might have a different idea. Current number one seed Nickie Erasmus and 9th seed Ishmael Mthethwa will be taking on Deon and Leenash Padayachee. A few moons ago Ishmael would have been a firm favorite to win the double but only he knows what happened to him. GP’s hopes will be on Nickie ‘Fearless’ Erasmus, he is on cloud 9 at the moment and if he continues his brilliant run, the Premier league will have to once again make way for him. Leenash blows hot and cold but at his best he can really turn the tide on anybody and anyone playing him should be wary of magical clearances. This weekend will be last bout of matches for Ishmael, Deon, Nickie and Leenash and it will be interesting to see who will have to fight relegation in the second round.
Welcome to the big league Pieter ‘Die Hard’ Rademeyer, Yacoob will be watching and monitoring you closely to see if you take good care of what he started. Pieter and Thami Jabavu will be taking on Juandre and Donovan at Stables in the case of Pieter and for the first time in Soweto, the BPL National League will play from Turning Point Lounge, this will be Rea Vaya’s new home ground. It will be very interesting to see how Thami deals with his home boys at his new venue.
THE BPL NEVER DISAPPOINTS!!!
