High-flying Sekhukhune United out to blunt Golden Arrows in Premiership clash

Golden Arrows beware! The men you are facing in today's Betway Premiership are on a high, and they will stop at nothing to remain there.

High-flying Sekhukhune United host Abafana Bes’thende at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, sitting pretty at the top of the table and looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the 2025/26 campaign still in its infancy.

Fresh from inflicting Kaizer Chiefs’ maiden loss of the season, Eric Tinkler’s men will trot onto the Polokwane pitch brimming with confidence that they can collect maximum points in their quest to “do a Leicester City.”

The English Premiership side that shocked all and sundry to win the league title back in the 2015/16 season under the Tinkerman Claudio Ranieri gave ‘small clubs’ the belief the world over that even they can stun the game’s aristocrats.

Sekhukhune are among the also-rans of South African football, with their best finish being fourth place in the previous two seasons.

Yet now, under a driven coach who is a winner at heart, Ba Bina Noko are daring to believe they can capture domestic football’s Holy Grail. It is an ambition many would scoff at, especially with Mamelodi Sundowns still the league’s strongest team and intent on capturing the title for a ninth successive time.

Football, though, is fickle at the top, and those who dare to believe and go for their goals without fearing the so-called strong sides often get rewarded.

And Tinkler – an African Nations Cup champion with South Africa as a player back in 1996, and a coach whose sides have generally punched above their weight (think SuperSport United, Cape Town City, and to some extent Maritzburg United) – has made it clear he is gunning for glory. And why shouldn’t he, when he is in charge of a squad teeming with players who know what it is like to win the championship?

Six matches into the season, they are top of the table with 16 points, having dropped just two in a draw against AmaZulu.

Their 3-1 defeat of Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday was a true indicator of just how serious they are. And with Bradley Grobler looking nothing like a player on the wrong side of 30, still wearing his lethal scoring boots, discount Sekhukhune as championship contenders at your own peril.

They have to start as favourites against an Arrows side that suffered a 2-1 defeat against Polokwane City on Wednesday, Manqoba Mngqithi’s team having actually scored first. Grobler, as well as Thabang Moanre - who was on the scoresheet against Chiefs – plus the likes of Miguel Timm and captain Linda Mntambo, are the seasoned campaigners Tinkler will rely on to lead the team and guide the younger, ambitious players to victory.

Keletso Makgalwa was a star last season – so much so that he was a nominee for individual awards – and he looks to have continued where he left off. His bet with Tinkler, that he should score more goals and produce more assists than in the previous campaign, is providing the wind beneath his wings.

Perhaps most impressive, and sure to help Sekhukhune avoid complacency, is Tinkler’s approach. Local football’s most famous ginger keeps telling his players they cannot consider themselves to have achieved anything simply because they are top of the table so early in the season.

“Until they win the championship eight times in a row like Sundowns have, they cannot speak about pressure,” Tinkler said after their victory over Chiefs.

And you can bet the handful of championship winners in the squad are making their teammates understand just what it is like to have that medal dangle down one’s neck – and will be urging them to go for it.

Can Arrows burst their bubble and inflict Sekhukhune’s maiden league defeat on Saturday afternoon? Just about everything suggests no. But this is football – a game full of surprises.

Another match taking place in Limpopo will see Magesi FC welcoming Siwelele FC to the Seshego Stadium, with the visitors’ tails up after they got a point against Sundowns on Wednesday.

Both matches kick off at 3pm.