Cape Town — Over the weekend there was great rejoicing in the camps of Kaizer Chiefs, Chippa United and Stellenbosch after they finally won matches in 2023.
It will be hoped that the wins will act as springboards to turn the season around for these three clubs.
Chiefs ended a three-game losing streak by defeating Royal AM 2-0 in a home game at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday. Apart from being the first win for 2023, it was also the first time they scored this year.
In the Winelands, the Cape Town Derby was an intriguing affair and the final outcome remained a lottery until the end. Never mind 2023, Stellenbosch last won a match in October and going into the match, they are in 15th place in the 16-team league and on a nine-match winless streak but that all changed when they claimed a dramatic 3-2 win to claim bragging rights in the Mother City on Friday.
City took a 2-0 lead in the first half and the passionate Stellenbosch crowd was stunned by the setback. They were brought back to life by the 22-year-old rookie Devon Titus on the cusp of half-time and from that moment onwards they were on their feet for the rest of the encounter after he came nowhere to score a goal.
In the second half, it was all Stellenbosch and the side was seemingly fuelled by the cheers and roars of the crowd as they ran City off their feet. Titus grabbed a second and substitute Sinethemba Mngomezulu grabbed the winner in cracking style.
In two years of Premiership football, Stellenbosch have never come from two goals down to win a game, while it was only the second time in history that City have let a two-goal lead slip and lost the match. At the time Eric Tinkler was also in charge when they were 2-0 up after seven minutes against Polokwane City. They went on to lose the match 4-2.
Chippa snapped a seven-game winless streak in the league when they edged Maritzburg United 1-0 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.
It was a good win considering Maritzburg were on a hot streak of three straight wins.
Nigerian Etiosa Ighodaro was Chippa's hero when he scored the lone goal, his third in three games.
TS Galaxy closed out the weekend's fare with a record-breaking 4-0 home win over Golden Arrows. The outcome marked Galaxy's biggest Premiership win and eased the pressure on coach Sead Ramović.
IOL Sport