There will be some trepidation for the Lamontville Golden Arrows coaching pair of Mabhuti Khenyeza and Vusimuzi Vilakazi when they take on Mamelodi Sundowns in Atteridgeville on Tuesday, in DStv Premiership clash that has been brought forward from the weekend.
They will vividly recall when Arrows were at Loftus Versfeld some 18 months ago and handed a 6-0 pasting by the champions – a result that was the club’s heaviest defeat and saw coach Lehlohonolo Seema promptly lose his job.
The coaching duo took over from Seema after that calamity and have since had a full season in charge, narrowly missing out on a top eight place last season
But they will be all too mindful that a heavy setback could be career ending.
Certainly, Arrows have played second fiddle to the Brazilians over the past four seasons and proven unable to beat them in their last 10 head-to-head clashes. That is made up of seven league games and three cup ties.
Arrows’ last win over Sundowns was a 3-2 thriller at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium, on the outskirts of Durban in November, 2019. It is the only win they have had in their past 15 meetings with the Pretoria club.
Overall, the record between the clubs, who have been playing each other for 23 years now, is 31 victories to Sundowns and 11 for Arrows with 12 draws. Sundowns have netted double the number of goals – 85 to 40.
Arrows last beat Sundowns away when Nduduzo Sibiya netted the only goal of their Nedbank Cup second round tie in Apriol 2017 but for a league win away against Sundowns you have to go back to the early part of the 2008-09 season when the late Richard Henyekane scored twice in a 4-2 win. Sundowns would later snap up him.
They have continued to attempt to snatch away Arrows’ best talent although the close ties between Arrows and Orlando Pirates means it is a rare case of Sundowns being second in the purchasing queue.
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