The Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates this afternoon is not only a huge game because there is a Nedbank Cup final place on the line, but it is another chapter in the rich history between these two giants of the local game.
The duo will battle it out for a place in the May 27 final at Loftus Stadium and while Chiefs are on a six-game winning streak against their great rivals, it is Pirates who are the form team going into the encounter.
Of course, it is goals that win games and all eyes will be on who can be the hero at Soccer City and book their team a final spot.
It is a well-known fact that Chiefs legend Pule ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe is the greatest goalscorer in Soweto Derby history with 19 strikes, a record that is unlikely to ever be beaten.
He scored goals for fun against Pirates and conventional wisdom says that these days, if you are netting that many in the modern game, you won’t hang around in the PSL for long enough to top his mark.
So who has the most Derby goals since the formation of the National Soccer League in 1985, which was a watershed moment for the domestic game?
The record in the last 38 years is six goals, which perhaps puts Ntsoelengoe’s heroics into even greater perspective.
That has been achieved twice, once for each team by two top strikers from yesteryear.
Jerry Sikhosana netted a hat-trick for Orlando Pirates in a 4-1 Bob Save Super Bowl semifinal in 1996, which is also the last time a player scored a treble in a Derby encounter.
He followed that up with goals in both league encounters in the 1996/97 season, and then another in 1997/98. Pirates never lost when he was on target.
Fani Madida also netted six goals for Chiefs, though there was a four-year gap between his first in 1987 and his second in 1991.
He got two in that campaign 32 years ago, and followed that up with another three goals in the 1992 season, including a brace in a 3-2 victory in the Coca-Cola Cup first round.
Those two are one ahead of the next highest scorers in the NSL era, the legendary Doctor Khumalo and Marks Maponyane, and contemporary star Thembinkosi Lorch, who could yet take the overall crown this weekend.
Khumalo scored his goals in a six-year period between 1987 and 1993, and it is perhaps surprising he did not get more.
Maponyane netted for both sides, grabbing four goals for Chiefs and one for Pirates as he crossed the Soweto divide.
Lorch has been a real thorn in the side of Chiefs in recent years, though he has been hampered by injuries and has been in and out of the treatment room. But he is back in action and could be a match-winner for The Buccaneers this weekend. He has already scored in every round of the Nedbank Cup so far this campaign.
There are a clutch of players on four Derby goals since 1985, including legends such as Shane MacGregor, Marks Maponyane, Basil Steenkamp and Siphiwe Tshabalala, while former Pirates star Lesley Manyathela would surely have added many more to his three derby goals had he not tragically died in a car accident aged 21.
SOWETO DERBY GOALS SINCE 1985
6 goals –
Fani Madida (Kaizer Chiefs), Jerry Sikhosana (Orlando Pirates)
5 – Doctor Khumalo (Kaizer Chiefs), Thembinkosi Lorch (Orlando Pirates), Marks Maponyane (Kaizer Chiefs/Orlando Pirates)
4 – Daniel Cardoso (Kaizer Chiefs), Leonardo Castro (Kaizer Chiefs), Thabang Lebese (Kaizer Chiefs), Shane MacGregor (Kaizer Chiefs), Basil Steenkamp (Orlando Pirates), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Scara Thindwa (Kaizer Chiefs), Benedict Vilakazi (Orlando Pirates)
3 – Albert Bwalya (Kaizer Chiefs), Denis Lota (Orlando Pirates), Lesley Manyathela (Orlando Pirates), Katlego Mashego (Orlando Pirates), Knowledge Musona (Kaizer Chiefs), Siyabonga Nomvethe (Kaizer Chiefs)
