Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Pollen Ndlanya says he believes that the coronavirus-enforced stoppage of Premier Soccer League football has come at the right time for all the teams because they were at the time of the season where they were experiencing the most pressure.
Ndlanya, who is popularly known as ‘Trompies’, says the break has come in handy especially for the teams that were struggling in the last few matches before the league was brought to a temporary halt in March.
The former Bafana Bafana striker’s own former club Kaizer Chiefs was one of those teams, having lost two of their last three league outings and being eliminated from the Nedbank Cup in the round of 16. The slump came as a surprise after their blistering start to the season which saw them open up a healthy lead on the log and occupying top stop from the first few weeks of the 2019/2020 season until the day of the last kick of the ball.
At that point, there were no more than nine matches for either of the 16 teams in the top division, with Amakhosi being left with eight and holding a four point lead over defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who, however, had a game in hand.
In spite of the relatively good lead, Ndlanya believes that the stoppage was a blessing for Chiefs, who looked like a team that was losing its momentum.
“I think this lockdown is a blessing in disguise for Kaizer Chiefs, because things were not going well for them and Sundowns were just behind them, and the form that Sundowns had was [good]. You know, you could see some of the big players of Kaizer Chiefs were starting to feel the pressure and were starting to panic, so that’s what I’ve noticed about Chiefs.
“But I don’t blame them, it’s because of the pressure, I know, I’ve been there. In this game you need guts and players who will give 120%. Players that are consistent, and more especially the key players. So, I think this is good for them; they will sit down and refocus and check what went wrong, what is happening,” says Ndlanya.
Chiefs, who last won the Absa Premiership title under Staurt Baxter in the 2014/15 season, had managed to collect 48 points from their opening 22 games, and were eight points clear of third-placed SuperSport United, who had played two games more.
Ndlanya says what his former club did manage to do well this season, was to collect points early to put themselves in the position they are in now.
”You need to collect maximum points as early as possible. I think that’s what Chiefs managed to do right. But I don’t blame them (for their second half slump); it’s because of the pressure of the teams that didn’t want to be relegated. I think in the second round it usually gets very tough because everyone wants the league, everyone doesn’t want to go down.”
* Cover image: kaizerchiefs.com.
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