Arrows aim for Top8

Golden Arrows ace Velemseni Ndwandwe has made it clear that relegation is the last thing on their minds, even though they’re five points away from the drop zone.

Arrows, who have the joint worst defensive record (34 goals conceded) with Royal AM and Maritzburg United, host fellow KZN strugglers Richards Bay at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday (3pm). Ndwandwe has emphasised they don’t talk about the possibility of relegation at all, as they aim to earn a spot inside the top eight. 

“First of all, we really don’t focus on the teams that are behind us because if we do that we can end up there. We are focused on leapfrogging the teams ahead of us, so that we’ll finish inside the top eight. The talk among ourselves is that we must be in the top eight. To be honest, we’ve never spoken about the possibility of relegation because we strongly believe we’ll finish in the top eight,” Ndwandwe told Sowetan yesterday.

Tenth-placed Arrows and Sekhukhune United, who complete the top eight, are separated by a single point, meaning as much as they are not far from the relegation zone, they are also not distant from the top half. Heading into Saturday’s KZN derby, Bay have suffered seven straight defeats. Ndwandwe has explained how he thinks their opponents' terrible form can work in either team’s favour on match-day.

“Psychologically their [Bay’s] current form can work in their favour, because we can take things for granted and say ‘we can beat these people because they are already losing many games’. However, we aim to guard against that mentality. It can work in our favour that they’ve lost seven games in a row in terms of confidence... our confidence is higher than theirs,” Ndwandwe said.

Ndwandwe, 27, has also opened up about his somewhat deteriorating goal contribution rate, having scored just six goals from 44 league games between last season and this season on the back of seven goals from 27 games in the 2020/21 term.

“I have been playing different positions this season. At the moment, I am playing as a defensive midfielder. It’s not about me but what the team demands from me. As much as I would have loved to score more goals, I must put the team’s needs first,” Ndwandwe, a natural right-winger, said.