Bucs, Birds clash to revive original Soweto derby spark

In its heyday, the original Soweto derby between Swallows and Orlando Pirates was the premium fixture in South African football. However, these days it can be seen as a normal match on the PSL calendar. 

The two sides will attempt to reignite their rivalry today when they meet at the Dobsonville Stadium (7.30pm)  for a DStv Premiership encounter. 

The relevance of the match in this day and age is almost non-existent, even the curiously media-shy Swallows did not even attempt to have a media day to promote the game. A disappointing turnout at the stadium can be expected for the game as that has been the case for most matches at Dobsonville Stadium this campaign, thanks to the Birds' poor media ethics. 

The state of the original Soweto derby is sad but according to former Dube Birds captain Goodman Mazibuko, the match still holds value for the senior citizens of the township because they know the historical background of the two clubs. 

“There’s a history between the two, it’s the first derby of Soweto in the day, and it was a big battle even for the supporters, especially the madalas (old men) who were not going to the stadium. In Soweto, you could see it was vibrant and everybody was looking forward to that game,” said Mazibuko told Sowetan this week.

“It was a big derby, when I was playing I knew what it meant, most of our supporters were older and we didn’t want to disappoint them. We’ll try by all means to make sure we win the game for them.

“We knew Pirates had more supporters coming to the stadium but on our side, we knew that most of our supporters don’t come to the stadium. We always knew something would happen in Soweto [if we won[, knowing what the derby means to them,” he said. 

Swallows and the Bucs are chasing contrasting objectives in the league, the former are in 14th place on the table and is avoiding relegation, while the latter are in third place and is fighting for a place in the CAF Champions League.

Pirates will welcome coach Jose Riveiro back from suspension after missing last week's Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs which, by contrast to today's fixture, attracted over 80 000 spectators at FNB Stadium. But the Bucs coach must make further changes to his lineup after captain Innocent Maela was sent off against Chiefs, while Nkosinathi Sibisi has accumulated four bookings and must serve a one-match ban.

This means Riveiro may have to start Olisah Ndah, whose mistake last week saw Pirates lose to Chiefs as the Nigeria netted an own goal coming off the bench.

Birds will count on the form of Kagiso Malinga, who helped them win over Chippa United with a brace last weekend.