Peter Shalulile scored for Sundowns in their 2-1 win over Chippa United yesterday, his ninth goal in the league and 15th in all competition this season. Below are five stats on one of the best players we have seen this campaign.

33 – Shalulile has scored 33 top-flight goals since his first season at Highlands Park. Only Themba Zwane and Knox Mutizwa (both 38) have scored more in that time.

When you consider that Shalulile spent a full season outside the top-flight, that stat is even more impressive.

86 – Shalulile’s 33 goals have come from 86 appearances, while both Mutizwa (117 appearances) and Themba Zwane (122) appeared in more league games in that period.

It was actually his first goal against Chippa, coming in his seventh match against them, which must have come as a relief.

7 – The seven matches played against Chippa is the longest it has taken Shalulile to score against a single top-flight opponent.

However, it also adds another scalp to the collection of top-flight teams he has scored against in his club career.

17 – Shalulile has scored against 17 different teams in the league since his previous club, Highlands Park, came into the top-flight.

Only against Ajax Cape Town, Platinum Stars has he played and failed to find the net, but even then he only faced these teams once.

1 – TTM are the only side that Shalulile has played more than 90 minutes against in the league without scoring.

10 – Denis Onyango is the first keeper to reach 10 clean sheets in the #DSTVPrem this season, and the second @Masandawana keeper to reach 10 clean sheets by the half-way stage of a league season in PSL history. Wall.

Sundowns kept 10 clean sheets in the 1st half of the 1996/97 season, but the goalkeeping duties were shared between Roger de Sa and John Tlale in the first 17 games of the season.

In the 30-game PSL era (when we have most reliable data), he equals Calvin Marlin whose 10th clean sheet came in the 15th game back in 2006/7. Onyango’s 10 have come in 14 games, while Marlin’s came in 15.

With 10 clean sheets in the opening 15 games, this Sundowns side are also on course for many records – both for Onyango and the team.

21 – Kaizer Chiefs 2003/4 hold the record for clean sheets by a team over a full season (21), conceding just 11 goals in the league.

That team conceded 5 goals in the opening 24 games, with the record slightly tainted by 6 goals conceded in the last 6 games. Still some record to beat.

17 – Moeneeb Josephs holds the record for most clean sheets by a keeper in a 30-game PSL season, keeping 17 clean sheets in the 2009/10 season for Orlando Pirates. (via:Nick Said)

It was a weekend for goalkeepers, as Richard Ofori made a stunning penalty save in the Soweto derby, while Ronwen William made his 100th consecutive league appearance for Supersport.

Sundowns beat Chippa United comfortably by a 2-0 scoreline in the league on Sunday afternoon. The victory helped them maintain their position at the top of the table, and they have reached the half-way stage of their season without losing a single game. But have you ever wondered, which teams has gone the longest unbeaten at the start of a PSL season?

The Top Ten are below, featuring two sides from this season.

1. Kaizer Chiefs 2014/15 (19 games unbeaten)

2. Orlando Pirates 2004/05 (17 games unbeaten)

3. Sundowns 2020/21* (15 games unbeaten)

4. Sundowns 1999/00 (15 games unbeaten)

5. Sundowns 2018/19 (15 games unbeaten)

6. Swallows FC 2020/21 (14 games unbeaten)

7. Kaizer Chiefs 1996/97 (13 games unbeaten)

8. Wits 2003/4 (12 games unbeaten)

9. Kaizer Chiefs 2005/6 (12 games unbeaten)

10 – Supersport 2011/12 (12 games unbeaten)

NB: These are the longest unbeaten starts to a season, not the longest unbeaten runs.

Tshwane Derby 0-0. KZN Derby 0-0. Liverpool v Man Utd 0-0.

It was a weekend of 0-0s in the big derbies of the weekend. While Chiefs won a 2nd successive game in the space of 4 days, the other big teams dropped points, with Golden Arrows and Swallows the only sides above Chiefs to register a win.

55 – Between the Swallows FC/TS Galaxy 0-0 draw in November 2020 and the Tshwane derby 0-0 draw this weekend, all 55 DSTV Premiership games featured at least one goal, the longest gap (in games) between goalless draws in a single season in PSL history.

2 – Chiefs won successive league games for the first time since this same week last year. Ironically, the second of the wins last year also came against Cape Town City.

..who may have a problem: a leaky defence.

9 – Jan Olde Riekerink is the first Cape Town City coach to go on a run of nine consecutive league games without a clean sheet.

18 – City have conceded 18 goals in 11 games, which is an improvement from this stage last season (20). 

But that’s when the managerial change happened, with Riekerink taking charge from the 12th game last season.

…which means:

30 – Riekerink has now taken charge of 30 league games for Cape Town City, the equivalent of a full season, with a record of W13 D8 L9 F40 A35. 

47 –  The 47 points City have won under his tutelage would be enough for 6th last season, 5th, 4th and 6th again going back four seasons.

Meanwhile Swallows continued to be Swallows, still unbeaten after 11 games, after a 1-0 win over Baroka, thanks to Ruzaigh Gamildien’s penalty goal.

4 – Gamildien’s penalty was the 4th that Swallows FC have scored in the league this season, more than any other side.

Another unbeaten side are Arrows, who scored in a 10th successive game (their record is 11).

3 – Arrows are one of only three sides unbeaten after 10+ games this season. Only once before has there been more than one team unbeaten after 10+ games (2005/6, Chiefs and Pirates). However, none of those unbeaten sides won the league (Sundowns did).

The shock of the weekend came in Thohoyandou, where bottom placed Black Leopards beat Pirates 2-0.

1 – It was Leopards’ first victory over Pirates in 18 attempts, the longest they’ve gone without a win against any side. As for Pirates, it was a second defeat in 2 weeks: 

2 – Pirates have lost two league games in the month of January for the first time since 2003/4. The most they have ever lost in any calendar month is 3, which has happened only 5 times in the PSL era.

They have four more games to play this month, including a Soweto derby on the 30th of January.

Kaizer Chiefs suffered another defeat on Saturday evening as they lost 2-0 to Maritzburg in a league encounter. The defeat left them in 14th place on the log, with just seven points, having completed almost a third of the season.

1 – This is the first time in the PSL era that Chiefs have collected less than 10 points at this stage of a league season.

The harrowing midweek trip to Angola probably had an effect on their performance on the weekend, with Maritzburg having rested the whole week before the game.

1 – Only one PSL side has finished in the Top 8 having won as many points as Chiefs have won at this stage of a 30-game season (Free State Stars in 2008/9).

Gavin Hunt’s hands have been tied by the CAF transfer ban, so it may be hard to see how much of the blame should go to him. Yet, the unwanted records have trapped him as well.

7 – Seven points from the opening nine league games is Gavin Hunt’s joint-worst start at this stage of a league season since 1998/99 at Seven Stars (also 7 points).

But the Chiefs train had started to stutter even before his arrival. Conceding heavily in the bio-bubble, surrendering the title in the last half-hour may have been signs of a deeper malaise.

0.94 – Chiefs average 0.94 points per game since football resumed without fans, the fourth lowest ratio of sides currently in the top flight.

The table without fans also places Chiefs in the bottom half of teams. 

23 – Chiefs have conceded 23 goals since football resumed in the bio-bubble, with only Maritzburg (25) conceding more.

To say Swallows FC are having a good season would be an understatement. The Birds are flying as high as the best teams in PSL history have managed, and should they keep up the momentum, they are certain to break many records.

21 – Swallows FC have won 21 points in their opening nine #DSTVPrem matches this season, becoming only the 12th side to reach 21+ points at this stage of a top-flight season in PSL history.

Other sides that have reached or exceeded the same point after nine games are:

However, only three of these sides went on to win the title – Sundowns in 1999/2000, Chiefs in 2012/13 and 2014/15.

What is even more impressive is that Swallows are a newly promoted side. The previous highest total for a newly promoted side at the same stage has been 16 points (Tembisa Classic 00/01 & Wits 06/07), while the record for 10 games is 19 points (Wits). Already Swallows are past that total, with a game to spare.

They obviously need a few more wins to guarantee safety, but Trutter and his men could be forgiven for aiming higher than simply avoiding relegation. While nine sides have finished in the Top 8 in their first top-flight season after promotion, the highest that a newly promoted side has ever finished in their first top-flight season is 5th place (Seven Stars in 1998/99 and Free State Stars in 2007/8).

4 – Swallows are currently on 21 points from nine games, and the lowest that a PSL side has finished having won so many points at this stage of the season is 4th (Sundowns in 2010/11).

CAF competitions could be a reasonable objective.

20 wins for Downs

Orlando Pirates started 2021 on a losing note as they lost 1-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus on the weekend. Saturday’s defeat to Sundowns meant that Orlando Pirates have now lost 20 league games vs Sundowns in the PSL era, more than they have against any other PSL opponent. While Sundowns are the first side to 20 league victories over Pirates, they are not the only side to beat the Buccaneers on more than ten occasions in the league.

4 – Four other sides have won at least 10 league games against Pirates, with Supersport (17), Wits (16), Chiefs (13) and Celtic (10) also enjoying 10+ wins over Pirates in the PSL.

Who are Pirates favourite opponents?

Yet, Pirates also have sides that they enjoy playing against, with Golden Arrows (20) and Ajax Cape Town (21) two sides they have beaten more than 20 times.

22 – Pirates have won 22 league matches against Bloemfontein Celtic, more than they have against any other opponent.

What do Brian Onyango & Roger Feutmba have in common?

Brian Onyango scored his first goal for Sundowns in this match, joining the likes of Roger Feutmba, Lerato Chabangu and Esrom Nyandoro as players with one goal against Pirates. But it was the third time that he has found the net against Bucs in his PSL career, also scoring for Maritzburg against the same opponent.

3 – Onyango has scored more goals against Pirates in his career (3) than he has against any other opponent.

The goal was also the 60th league goal Pirates have conceded to Sundowns in the PSL era, more than they have against any other side (57 v Supersport). That said, Wits and AmaZulu who have conceded more goals to Sundowns since 1996 (68 each).

70 – Sundowns have scored 70 league goals against Supersport, the highest number of goals any side has scored against a single opponent in PSL history.

Daniel Mudau’s favorite opponent

With eight league goals against Pirates, including four successive games between 1998 and 2000, Daniel Mudau is the outright top-scorer in this fixture. Thulasizwe Mbuyane and Khama Billiat (4) are the next best in this fixture.

8 – Daniel Mudau scored eight league goals against Pirates, the joint-most he managed against any league opponent (8 also v AmaZulu).

750 – Orlando Pirates & Mamelodi Sundowns both played their 750th league game over the weekend, becoming the first sides to play 750 league games in the PSL era.

Sundowns missed out on their 390th win, after drawing 1-1 away to Maritzburg. Their overall record now reads: P750 W389 L162 D199 F1117 A633.

Downs also faced Maritzburg in their 500th game, back in April 2012, but lost that game 1-0.

Pirates 750th game ended in a draw, as the Buccaneers clash against Cape Town City ended 2-2. Their overall PSL record reads W347 D248 L155 F1034 A664.

248 – Pirates have now drawn more league games than any other side in the PSL era (248).

Swallows FC played their 6th game of the season over the weekend, meaning the club have now played 600 league games in the PSL era (594 as Moroka Swallows pre:2015)

7 – Only seven club sides have played 600 league games in the PSL era including Pirates, Sundowns (750), Supersport, Chiefs (749), Wits (714) and Bloemfontein Celtic (655).

Player Stat of the weekend:

Luvuyo Memela’s four goals from the opening six league games is the best return for an AmaZulu player at this stage of a PSL season since Simon Magagula in 1996/97 (also 4 from 6).

50 – Kermit Erasmus’ goal for @Masandawana this evening was the 50th league goal he’s scored in the PSL, spanning across four different clubs. Milestone.

The former Cape Town City talisman has found his feet quickly at Mamelodi Sundowns, and reached the milestone with a first half goal in a 3-0 win over former Cape foes Stellenbosch.

The 50 league goals have come for four different PSL sides – Supersport (15), Pirates (17), Cape Town City (16) and now Sundowns (2).

Oddly, he’s scored most of his league goals against Sundowns (6), with Kaizer Chiefs a close favourite (5). His favourite goalscoring month is August (9 goals), with the current month November just behind (8).

Erasmus’ record when scoring in the league reads: Won 35 Drew 11 Lost 4, with one of those losses coming for CT City against Sundowns.

According to the Transfermarkt website, he’s made 174 league appearances. We look forward to more goals.

Photo: @backpagepix