Abafana Bes’thende aim for sixth position finish in PSL this season

Golden Arrows will face TS Galaxy in their Betway Premiership season finale on Saturday, aiming to maintain their sixth-place log standing.

The match will take place at the Chatsworth Stadium near Durban.

Arrows are unbeaten in six matches following their 2-0 victory against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at the weekend.

Head coach Manqoba Mngqithi said a sixth-place finish in the league season would mean a lot to his young team, especially since they were fighting relegation last season.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach said he had seen many players develop since taking over the club.

“My wish was always to finish in the top six, and I will be very excited if we can achieve that,” Mngqithi said.

“Because my desire was to see these boys starting to think about other things instead of worrying about relegation, which is what we experienced last year when I came.

“I also wanted to see a lot of player development. I wanted to see players improving and becoming better than what they were last season.

“We have achieved that.

“And to say in the second half of the season up until now we have only lost three matches — that is very big.

“Those three matches that we lost were against the big three, the ones that are in the front three as we speak.

“And that for me is also positive because it says we have done well.

“I just hope in the last match against TS Galaxy we do get another win.

“Because that would mean a lot to these boys, to say in the second half of the season they did not lose even one match at home.

“In the second round of the season they only lost against the big three, and then next season the fight will be different because now they will believe that they have what it takes to achieve even better than what we achieved this season.

“I don’t think it was one of our best performances technically, but I am excited that we managed to get the points that we wanted.”

On Saturday, Abafana Bes’thende sunk the Chilli Boys deeper into the relegation battle, beating them 2-0 at home.

Isaac Cisse and golden boot leader Junior Dion scored in the first half.

Mngqithi’s players spoilt other chances, which prevented them from scoring more goals in the second half.

“We wanted to consolidate our position on the log, and it was exciting for me to see these boys really achieving that.

“But the energy was good, and the willpower to win the match was there.

“Also, there was very good teamwork, which was exciting, and the goals that we scored were also very good goals,” he said.