Cape Town - All roads led to Soweto over the weekend for the 177th edition of the Soweto Derby which failed to capture the imagination as a crowd-pleasing spectacle. Thanks to an own goal by Orlando Pirates' substitute Olisa Ndah, Kaizer Chiefs recorded their fifth successive win in the PSL over their arch-rivals.
Elsewhere, there were other winners and losers, both on the domestic and continental fronts.
Soweto Derby
Football can be a cruel world. Ndah's own goal ensured that Chiefs walked away with bragging rights and for the moment all talk of coach Arthur Zwane losing his job has halted.
To add insult to injury, Chiefs fans go gaga over the Nigerian Ndah in their post-match social media rants and raves, claiming he was their best player.
Pirates were the form team going into the match but so many of their stars, like Monnapule Saleng and Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo, went missing on the day.
Chiefs produced a much-improved display after their Golden Arrows defeat and bossed their rivals in nearly all key areas of the contest.
Cairo stalemate in four-goal thriller
Al Ahly's Red Devils were held to a 2-2 draw by South African visitors Mamelodi Sundowns in their CAF Champions League clash at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday evening.
Al Ahly, dubbed the Team of the Century after winning the Champions League trophy 10 times, failed to score a penalty after Sundowns upended their former playmaker Percy Tau in the penalty area.
Sundowns remained composed after Al Ahly dominated for sustained spells and in the end super-sub Thapelo Morena scored to make it 2-2.
The great Al Ahly have only managed one point after two Group B outings, and are six points off the pace set by Sundowns.
Marumo Gallants not so gallant in Algeria
After South African minnows Marumo Gallants had secured Group A wins over Libya's Al Akhdar and Saint Eloi Lupopo of DR Congo in their first two matches, they suffered their maiden CAF Confederation Cup defeat on Sunday evening.
Gallants may have had a good feeling at the start since they were playing at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, a venue named after the fallen SA icon.
However, Gallants lost 2-0 and the victorious USM Alger replaced them on top of the log, which they head with seven points, with debutants Gallants on six.
Abderrahmane Meziane and Zinnedine Bellaid scored in either half for the Algerians.
Grobler in line to grab pole position
Over the weekend, SuperSport United goalmouth predator Bradley Grobler scored one of the most important goals in the DStv Premiership over the weekend.
His goal in SuperSport's 2-0 win over Maritzburg United at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria was his 100th in the annals of South African football.
He now joins the '100 Club', a select band of players like Siyabonga Nomvethe, Daniel Mudau, Mabhuti Khanyeza, Tico-Tico Bucuane and Collins Mbesuma to have scored 100 goals in the PSL era.
It was Grobler's eighth Premiership goal and he remains in contention in the Golden Boot race which Peter Shalulille of Sundowns heads with nine goals. Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana of Kaizer Chiefs, EI Etiosa Ighodaro of Chippa United and Cassius Mailula (Sundowns) follow with seven goals each.
When the chips are down, Morgan Mammila will go ...
In the aftermath of Chippa United's 2-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Swallows at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium over the weekend, coach Morgan Mammila knew it was the beginning of the end for him.
In Mammila's post-match interview, he said if the team continued to lose matches, it would make sense to walk away from the coaching post. Whether or not the notoriously trigger-happy Chippa United boss Siviwe 'Chippa' Mpengesi heard these comments, Mammila was moved sideways when he reported for work on Monday morning.
Former interim coach Kurt Lentjies took charge of training on Monday. He takes over as the interim coach until the end of the 2022/23 season.
Mammila will join the backroom staff in an admin role.
@Herman_Gibbs