The world’s changing rapidly, and it seems so is the PSL, for the better that is – its time for all those English Premier League supporters to shift their allegiances to closer to home.
To all those Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal ‘fans’ in this country, many of who have never been to England and have few if any family ties to the UK: the Absa Premiership is hot right now, it’s where it’s all happening!
Last Fridays Cape Town derby was as good as it gets, anywhere.
Athlone was the scene as Ajax Cape Town ran out 4-3 winners over Santos in a game which overflowed with passion, commitment, drama (including a 35th minute red card) and goals of the highest order.
Clayton Daniels and to a lesser degree Jurie Basie’s efforts aside , the other five goals were WORLD CLASS: three superbly executed curling shots from 20-yards out into the top corner, a sublime left-footed chip from an acute angle from Terror Fanteni and a 25-yard rocket of a match winner five minutes from time courtesy of Thulani Serero.
The usual complaints from the EPL lovers regarding South African football include: the finishing is poor, the crowd attendances are embarrassing, too much show-boating, the grass is not green enough, administration is third-world.
None of these were applicable on the Mother City on Friday night.
SAFA is still prone to regular bungles, but there is absolutely no fault to be found in the PSL’s organization of the league; it’s improving season by season. Go compare the logs in South Africa with those in England on Monday morning and look at the ‘games played’ columns, for example…
Of course not every match is going to be a 4-3 derby thriller, but a gradual trend towards better quality, or at least more entertaining top flight football appears to be underway – just last week Santos and Golden Arrows drew 3-3, while Wits hammered Vasco 6-0.
Another game in Cape Town, earlier this season – Ajax’s 1-0 win over Chiefs, only had a single goal, yet provided 90 minutes of thrilling action on the field, while the 40 000 fans at the ground ensured it was a memorable evening.
The equation in general in pretty simple – the bigger and more enthusiastic the crowd, the more exciting the action on the field.
Stop worrying about what Wayne Rooney does for after-hours entertainment, or what kind of hobbies John Terry and Ashley Cole partake in, or whether West Ham or West Bromwich Albion will escape relegation - go and watch the Absa Premiership – you won’t see a 4-3 score-line every week, but there will always be drama, excitement and vibrant fans.
http://swnews.co.za/its-on-your-doorstep/
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