Winners & Losers: PSL Final Weekend

It was a good final matchday for the KZN sides, with Golden Arrows and Richards Bay the only teams to win on the final gamweek. AmaZululu will also be happy with their 1-1 draw against Orlando Pirates, which helped them secure sixth place for the season. The biggest losers were SuperSport United, who succumbed to a 2-0 defeat that sent them to the bottom of the table. Winners & Losers is a statistical review of the weekend action.

Winners

Golden Arrows

It has been a difficult start for Manqoba Mngqithi in his latest stint at Golden Arrows. And failure to win here could have complicated matters in terms of the relegation battle. Instead, Arrows took advantage of an ill-disciplined Sekhukhune to win 3-2 and secure their top-flight status for yet another season.

11 – Arrows are guaranteed a top-flight place for the 11th consecutive season, a record they share with Chiefs, Sundowns, Pirates and Chippa United.

Richards Bay

At the beginning of 2025, Richards Bay were second bottom on the table, with seven points from 11 games. The contrast between the first half of their season and the second could not be greater. The final day victory leaves them on the brink of Top 8 (Arrows or Magesi must win 5-0 to deny them a Top 8 spot).

9 – Nine wins is Richards Bay’s best win record in a top-flight season.

AmaZulu

Usuthu came into the final day knowing their Top 8 spot was guaranteed. With 15 minutes to play, they were leading 1-0 and on their way to leapfrog TS Galaxy into 5th position. Allowing Pirates to equalise meant they remained in sixth position, but it’s still an impressive season.

6 – Sith place is AmaZulu’s best league position since finishing 2nd in 2020/21 (under Benni McCarthy).

Orlando Pirates

The Buccaneers’ improvement has come in a season where Sundowns have set record after record. So it is easy to scoff at their effort. The point against AmaZulu was important, and they are winners here mainly because it helped them reach the 60-point mark.

2013/14 – The last time a team had 60+ points without winning the title was 2013/14 (Chiefs 63 in 2nd)

Polokwane City

Their performances and results have wound down towards the end of the season, but they were very good in the first half. After 14 games, City lay third in the table with 25 points behind only Sundowns and Pirates. In the end, that was a strong enough foundation to get them into the Top 8.

2 – City have reached the Top8 for a second consecutive season, the first time they have done so in back-to-back campaigns.

Cape Town City

A point that could be the difference between guaranteed top-flight football and entering the playoffs.

Losers

Sekhukhune

4th place is an impressive outcome for Sekhukhukhune, but even they will feel they could have finished higher. The biggest issue was not that they lost to Arrows (while Stellies were being held by Cape Town City), but how it happened.

2 – Sekhukhune are the first team to receive two red cards in the same game this season.

SuperSport United

That’s one win in ten games for SuperSport United since the beginning of March. Matsatsantsa now have 45 minutes to save their season from going from disappointing to abysmal.

1999 – For the first time since 1999/00, SuperSport United will finish outside the Top 8.