Maritzburg United and Cape Town Spurs are set for a blockbuster when they battle it out in the Premier Soccer League promotion-relegation playoffs final match at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Wednesday night.
Pressure is mounting for Maritzburg, who need nothing less than three points against Spurs if they are to retain their DStv Premiership status – with the latter holding a three point advantage and need only a draw to make their historic return to the SA top-flight.
The Team of Choice are number two with six points, while the Urban Warriors are sitting on top of the mini table with nine points.
Maritzburg gave themselves a lifeline when they beat Casric Stars 2-0 at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium over the weekend, thanks to goals from Rowan Human and Rafiq De Goede.
They go up against a Spurs side that is banging on the door of the DStv Premiership and has not lost a single match in the playoffs – doing a double against Casric and edging past Maritzburg in the first round.
Fadlu Davids and his charges find themselves between a rock and a hard place, after finishing an uninspiring Premiership season on number 15, with Marumo Gallants getting the axe to the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Spurs were unfortunate to not get an automatic promotion, following yet another impressive campaign in the National First Division.
Shaun Bartlett and his side let the championship slip on the last day, when they were held to a 1-1 draw by University of Pretoria, while Polokwane City thumped Pretoria Callies 4-0 to be crowned champions with a better goal difference.
Meanwhile, a moment of silence will be observed in honour of former legendary Bafana Bafana coach Clive ‘The Dog’ Barker, who sadly passed away from Lewy Body Dementia at the age of 78 on Saturday.
Kick-off time is at 7:30pm
