Winners & Losers: PSL Matchday 5

Sekhukhune and Kaizer Chiefs continued their near-perfect starts to the season with wins on Saturday, helping them maintain their positions at the top of the table.

At the same time, Orlando Pirates, TS Galaxy and Sundowns also earned wins to keep in touch with the leading pair. There will be groans and dissapointments for the likes of Chippa, Stellenbosch and Orbit College, who all suffered defeats on the weekend.

Winners

Peter Shalulile

The biggest winner from the past weekend, after breaking a long standing PSL record for goals. On Saturday afternoon, Shalulile scored his 130th goal for a top-flight club. It’s a major milestone, and one that has been anticipated for a while. There were rumours that he was on his way out of the club, and leaving with one goal to the record would have left a sour taste.

130 – Shalulile’s goal against Stellenbosch was his 130th in the top-flight (103 at Sundowns, 27 at Highlands Park), setting a new goals record for a top-flight player in PSL history.

Kaizer Chiefs

Including the final game of last season, Chiefs have now kept six clean sheets in a row. From Game 1 to Game 27 (the penultimate game) of last season, Chiefs kept as many clean sheets (6). Paseka Mako was singled out for praise as Man Of the Match on Saturday, but everything about Chiefs’ defensibve solidity has been a team effort.

2019 – Chiefs have not conceded a goal in any of their five games this season. The last time they registered five consecutive clean sheets in the same campaign was in 2019/20 under Ernst Middendorp.

Orlando Pirates

League victory against a miserable Chippa United will not atone for the six dropped points at the start of the season. Yet, Ouaddou’s players may have picked the right time to breathe life back into their season – two weeks before the MTN8 final.

2024 – The last time Pirates scored 3+ in an away league game was April 2024 (v Royal AM, 4-0)

Sekhukhune

Is something special brewing here? In PSL history, less than 20 teams have started a season so well in terms of points after 5 games (18 teams to be precise). 55% of the time, a team starting with 13+ points from 5 games ends up winning the title.

13 – Sekhukhune have 13 points from 5 games this season, their best ever start at this stage to a top-flight  campaign.

TS Galaxy

Three wins in a row for the first time since April 2024, and top goal scorers in the league as it stands. At no point last season did Galaxy win three on the trot.

9 – This is Galaxy’s joint-best start after 5 games, matching their 2022/23 9-point start.

Bradley Grobler

100 league goals for the long-serving striker. Only Siyabonga Nomvethe (105) has scored more goals in the league than Grobler, and he could overtake him this season.

Losers

Chippa United

That’s four losses in a row for Chippa United, and their season is in great need of a jumpstart. The impressive comeback draw against Sundowns seems like a distant memory at the moment. They looked promising then, but look far from that now.

12 – Chippa are winless in 12 league games (P12 W0 D4 L8 since the end of March), currently the longest run without a win by any team in the division.

Orbit College

Three losses on the bounce may be cause for concern. Orbit College needs to get some results in the bag soon, otherwise it is going to be a long season.