Winners & Losers: PSL Matchday 11

A full round of PSL action did not disappoint, with goals, own goals, red cards, missed penalties, late goals on show this past weekend. In the end, Sundowns retained their position at the top of the table, while Sekhukhune and Pirates missed their opportunity. There were good wins for Kaizer Chiefs, Golden Arrows, TS Galaxy and AmaZulu, and important ones for Orbit College and Siwelele, who both steered clear of the danger zone. Winners & Losers is a statistical review of the weekend action.

Winners

Golden Arrows’ home form

With a transfer window behind him, it seems the coach now has a group of players hungry to make an impact. They are yet to win away from home and that must be rectified, but have won more points at home than any other side.

15 – Arrows have won five home league games this season, more than they managed throughout all of last season (4).

Kaizer Chiefs defence

A four-game winless run in the league brought to an end. While goals haven’t started to flow, the defence has proved a solid base. Chiefs have the most clean sheets in the league this season (7).

1 – Only once before have they registered more clean sheets after 10 games of a PSL campaign (8 in 2003/4).

Brendon Peterson

He seems to have staked his place as the Number 1 goalkeeper at Chiefs, and so far is doing a great job in disproving his reputation for mistakes. After making just four league appearances last season, the 31-year-old is repaying the trust placed in him by the coaches.

7 – Peterson is the first Chiefs goalkeeper in PSL history to keep seven clean sheets in the club’s opening 10 games of a season:

Flavio Silva

Other players have more goals, shots and touches in the opposition box. But few are as efficient in front of goal – Silva has scored three goals from just eight shots and nine touches in the opposition box.

40 – Silva averages a goal every 40 minutes for Chiefs this season (3 in 119), the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any player with 3+ goals.

AmaZulu

3-0 away from home is their biggest winning margin in an away league game under Arthur Zwane. The last time Usuthu won by a bigger margin on the road was in April 2021. The ideal complement to a perfect home record.

18 – 18 points from 10 games represents AmaZulu’s joint-best start to a PSL top-flight season.

Orbit College

A legue table from Heritage Day would have Orbit College joint-top, alongside Golden Arrows. The formula is tried and tested – if you win a few games, you will create belief.

1 – This is the first time that Orbit College has won back-to-back games this season.

TS Galaxy

The proverbial monkey is off the Rockers’ back.

1 – TS Galaxy won a game against Stellenbosch for the very first time, having lost 10 and drawn five of the 15 previous meetings since 2018.

Losers

Sundowns and giving away leads

It’s strange to have the league leaders in the Losers section, but Downs are here because of a continued failure to close off games. In a sense, they are victims of their own success. Last season, Sundowns took the lead in 24 league matches and won every single one. They look more fragile now.

6 – Sundowns have already dropped six points from winning positions this season (three draws).

Stellenbosch

A week after blowing hot and scoring eight goals in two games, Stellies followed that with blowing cold and conceding six in two games. Unsurprisingly, the last two have been away games.

10 – Stellies are winless in 10 away games (all comps), their longest such run since their 2019 promotion.