A fierce battle is on the cards between two DStv Premiership clubs, Marumo Gallants FC and the Durban-based Royal AM. They will clash in a return outing on Wednesday (05/04), at the Toyota Free State Stadium.
The latter club, formerly known as Bloemfontein Celtic (or Phunya Sele Sele), returns to the Free State capital to be haunted by its former supporters, who have formed a strong allegiance with Gallants, following its relocation to the city as part of strengthening the bond with faithful Phunya Sele Sele supporters.
The match is set to kick off at 19:30.
Phunya Sele Sele’s loyal supporters already showed their true colours when they boycotted last year’s Macufe Cup, in which Royal had been pitted against regulars Kaizer Chiefs.
The vociferous Phunya Sele Sele supporters celebrated the heritage of the defunct club at the Masekeng Stadium in Batho. The cup clash attracted far less than the usual crowd of approximately 43 000.
With Phunya Sele Sele supporters fully behind the Gallants, it will be a different ball game in this return league fixture which will be the Gallants’ second in Bloemfontein since its relocation in February. The club’s first game was in the Nedbank Cup against Mamelodi Sundowns, which the latter team won 3 – 1.
Having already experienced the full backing of fans in their new home, Raymond Mdaka, head coach of Gallants, and his warriors are expected to pull out all the stops against Royal. Fans are again expected to descend on the stadium in large numbers, as was the case with the first game against Sundowns.
Mdaka is hoping the overwhelming support will inspire his warriors to win all the remaining matches, starting with the one against Royal.
He is also hoping his charges emulate their good form in the rest of the continent in their battle to avoid the dreaded relegation in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
The Bahlabani Ba Ntwa team is facing demotion to South Africa’s second professional rank, the Motsepe Championship. It collected an important point when playing to a 2 – 2 draw with Cape Town City in a league fixture on 14 March. Victory will see them leapfrog to position 15 on the log, replacing Maritzburg United.
