Stellenbosch face tough test

Stellenbosch face tough test

TAB soccer customers are looking forward to another amazing week with TAB soccer pools loaded with matches from the top leagues and competitions, and cash boosts totalling R750,000 to six pools through the weekend

By Mark Gleeson

Stellenbosch’s heroics of last season in the PSL will be hard to improve on after the sale of speedster Ashley du Preez. He played a pivotal part in their success last season as they exploited his pace to make them exceedingly dangerous - and effective - on the counterattack.

Tonight’s game against Orlando Pirates will provide a first real glimpse into any alternative strategy they might employ without him this season.

While the club could not resist the handsome fee that Chiefs paid, they are an outfit with a master plan and looking to patiently build themselves into a powerful force, using judicious signings and local talent to get them there.

Last season’s fifth-place finish followed just surviving relegation in the previous campaign and showed the value of not panicking and backing the coach. Steve Barker was allowed to turn things around and did so in fine style, with the club coming close to winning a place in this season’s African club competitions.

But that is all in the past now with a new campaign underway and a real test ahead for the Winelands club.

This will also be a tough clash for Pirates, who showed some good tactical discipline in the first half of last Saturday’s clash against Swallows FC before reverting to last season’s inconsistency after the break. They were fortunate to hold onto a 1-0 victory.

It is going to take a while to judge whether new coach Jose Riveiro has the wherewithal to turn this one-time giant of South African soccer back into a powerful force.

Mamelodi Sundowns are at home to TS Galaxy tonight and look a natural banker bet to win in the first Soccer 10 pool, but that said Galaxy are capable of causing upsets as Kaizer Chiefs found out in the Nedbank Cup last season.

Tonight also sees the UEFA Super Cup showdown in Helsinki between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt. Real Madrid won last season’s Champions League, while the Bundesliga club edged out Glasgow Rangers to take the Europa League in May.

Frankfurt were handed a 6-1 hiding by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in their opening league game at the weekend, whereas Real kick off their LaLiga campaign this Sunday.

The two clubs last clashed competitively back in 1960 in one of the most iconic European Cup finals, which Real Madrid won 7-3 in Glasgow. And the Spanish giants, however rusty, must be overwhelming favourites to repeat that success given the quality at their disposal.

It is the first trophy of the European club competition season, which is now well underway with a multitude of matches tonight and tomorrow in the preliminary rounds of Champions League, Europa League and the Europa Conference League.

There’s more great soccer on the menu at the weekend as the PSL and EPL begin to gather momentum and the start of the new season in La Liga signals that all the top European leagues are now back in action. Meanwhile the premier leagues in Argentina, Brazil and the USA roll on and for soccer fans this is as good as it gets.

TAB soccer pools offer chances daily to win big amounts for as little as R2 and TAB is upping the ante this weekend with add-ins of R750,000 to six selected soccer pools. Get the details in this edition of TAB Sports Express with all the latest weekend info in Friday’s TAB Sports Express Update and at www.soccer6.co.za

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