BLOEMFONTEIN – Pressure is on the Marumo Gallants to break their winless streak going into the critical final lap of the Premier Soccer League (PSL). The club resumes the race with a tough away fixture against TS Galaxy on Wednesday 21 January.
It will be played in the Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit. Kick-off is at 19:30.
The Gallants are stuck on 15 points and languishing in the relegation zone of the PSL table. They have managed to record just three wins and six draws thus far. The draws were against giants Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, Orbit College, Magesi FC, Polokwane City and Sekhukhune United.
All three wins came with 2 – 1 scorelines against Orlando Pirates, Chippa United and Richards Bay.
This status quo has the current head coach Alexandre Lafitte under immense pressure. The target set is that he ensures the club qualifies for the top eight. The clock is ticking for the Frenchman and his technical team to find a solution to curb the club’s downward spiral in the league, which is blamed on the players’ inability to convert scoring chances.
The club’s concerted effort to solve the goal drought has seen the enlisting of three players, one South African and two internationals from Zambia and Ivory Coast. The latter are Romaric Dognimin Ouattara (21) from Ivory Coast, a centre-forward who joins from Algerian club Olympique Akbou; and Emmanuel Lyonze Mwiinde (25) from Zambia, an offensive player who played for clubs including Hatta Club, Masafi Sports Club and Al-Salam SC in recent seasons.
Msindisi Kunene (24), a South African, joins from AmaZulu. He featured for his former team in league matches.
The latest enlistment of international players to solve the goal-scoring problem is in addition to three deals concluded during 2025. Those signed earlier are Mofosse Karidioula Tréso from Ivory Coast, Ibrahim Bance from Burkina Faso and Eroine Agnikoi from Ivory Coast.
The Frenchman Lafitte conceded the strike force remains a grave concern due to a lack of firepower. This inability is evident from the few goals scored: 12 in total. The team has conceded 17 goals in total.
The Gallants had been depending on selected players to score much-needed goals. However, those who have been instrumental include roving midfielder-strikers Phillip Ndlondlo and Jaisen Clifford. The latter returns to action after recovering from an injury he sustained against Magesi in a league fixture which ended 1 – 1 in Bloemfontein.
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