15 December 2008

Six points up for grabs

It’s a big week ahead for Maritzburg United as they face Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night in Pretoria, followed by a KZN derby against Thanda Royal Zulu at the Woodburn Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Team of Choice were not in action last week as their scheduled opponents, Orlando Pirates, played in the Telkom Cup final against Ajax Cape Town.

This means that United have not tasted competitive action for nearly 10 days, following their spirited 1-1 draw against Free State Stars.

Prior to that game, the team had beaten Bay United and will now be looking to continue with their good run of form when they travel to Pretoria to face Sundowns, whom United coach Gordon Igesund guided to the league championship title a couple of seasons back.

On paper the Brazilians have the best squad in the PSL, however the team has gone through a slump of late, losing their last two Premiership encounters at home.

This included a 2-0 loss to Platinum Stars last Sunday, which saw a lacklustre display from Downs.

Their poor run of form of late may however not necessarily be a good thing as they will be desperate to bounce back – a danger of which Igesund will no doubt be very aware of.

A positive result would however be a great confidence booster as the Team of Choice goes into Sunday’s home match against Thanda.

The Durban side lost on the weekend to Free State Stars and should also provide a stern test for United as they look to return to winning ways.

Maritzburg can however draw confidence from the fact that Thanda conceded three goals against Stars.

Both Thanda and Sundowns are just three points above United on the league table, making it all the more important that Maritzburg do well as they look to climb up the table ahead of the Christmas break.

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