Swallows, Celtic fight it out

Moroka Swallows and Bloemfontein Celtic will be eager to finish the season on a high when they clash heads at the Volkswagen Dobsonville Stadium in the last fixture of the season on Saturday, kick-off at 3pm.

Both sides have enjoyed a solid season in South Africa’s top flight and go into the final game of the season looking to finish in the top eight of the PSL.

Swallows held SuperSport United to a goalless draw in their last encounter while Celtic played to a 2-2 draw against rivals Free State Stars in their last fixture.

The two sides head into the game in sixth and seventh position respectively and both will be eager to finish as high as possible to get a preferable draw in the MTN 8 cup competition.

Swallows captain Lefa Tsutsulupa is wary of what is at stake heading into the final fixture of the campaign.

“Both sides are vying for a top eight place, so it is an important game for either side. It is going to be a difficult game but we are confident that we can do the job,” said Tsutsulupa.

“It is important that we don’t totally rely on attack but on defence as well, we need to be balanced and we need the points. Larsen has done a wonderful job at Celtic, they are a side with a good mixture of experience and youth.”

Phunya Sele Sele coach Clinton Larsen also expects a tough battle in Soweto against last season’s Premier Soccer League runners-up.

“We want to finish strong, at the start of the season we wanted to finish in the top five and a win on Saturday will help us achieve that goal. We can’t worry about what happens in the other games, we must just concentrate on ourselves,” said Larsen.

“It is going to be a very difficult game, they also want to finish in the top eight and will also be eager to end the season on a high.”

The reverse fixture in December last year ended in a 2-1 victory for Phunya Sele Sele. The PSL’s top goal scorer Katlego Mashego opened the scoring just after the half hour mark for the Dube Birds.

Celtic though fought back and second half strikes from Lerato Manzini and Letladi Madubanya secured all three points for the Free State outfit.