LAMONTVILLE Golden Arrows striker Sede Dion is set to take the PSL Golden Boot back to the KZN province as he leads the charts with 14 league goals this season.
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IN recent seasons, KwaZulu-Natal teams have been showing signs of rising to the top table of the Betway Premiership, and this season may prove to be their moment of passage.
The province, which has over the years been synonymous with relegation, stands this year to finish with three teams in the Top 8, while the only outsider, Richards Bay, is safely away from the drop zone.
Lamontville Golden Arrows will host TS Galaxy at the King Zwelithini Stadium, and a win would take them to 43 points and seal their spot in the Top 8 bracket.
AmaZulu need to win against local rivals Durban City at the Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday to finish in the Top 4 — where club president Sandile Zungu has mandated coach Arthur Zwane and his technical team to finish.
They can still finish in the Top 4 even if they fail to win, should Sekhukhune United lose against Siwelele at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
The Durban derby between Usuthu and the Citizens is not expected to be too tricky an affair, since City are almost certain to finish in eighth position with 39 points, even should they lose against Usuthu.
City have a three-point gap over ninth-placed Stellenbosch FC, and the Durbanites have a far superior goal difference which will keep them safely within the Top 8, even if they lose and the Capetonians win.
To leapfrog City, Stellenbosch will have to win by at least five unanswered goals against relegation-threatened Marumo Gallants at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium on Saturday.
It is not only the Top 8 prospects that are making this a special season for the KZN sides, but also the fact that they have finally ended a 16-year silverware drought.
It is perhaps the headline of the season that new boys Durban City beat Galaxy early this month to be crowned the 2026 Nedbank Cup champions.
What makes their triumph even more interesting is the fact that this is their first season back in the South African top flight, even though they were relegated some seasons ago as Maritzburg United.
On top of being new to the Premiership, they are among the teams that at some point showed signs of instability, considering that sometime this season they changed coaching personnel three times in the space of three months.
They started the season with seasoned coach Gavin Hunt; he was replaced by the young Sinethemba Badela, who left after a short stint to be replaced by interim coach and incumbent, Pitso Dladla.
From relegation candidates to champions — Durban City are only the third KZN side to win top-flight silverware in the PSL era.
The first were Manning Rangers, who won the inaugural Premiership title in the PSL era in 1996/1997.
It took 13 years for Golden Arrows to put KZN in the headlines for the right reasons again, winning the MTN8 title in 2009, and it has been a dry spell ever since.
Last season, the province was again in the news for the wrong reasons as they were disgraced by Royal AM, who were expelled from the league after complicated administrative matters.
Football supporters will be hoping that this season’s spirited showing will spell change and steer the province in the right direction going forward.
The cherry on top is that Arrows striker Sede Dion is set to win the province the PSL Golden Boot as he leads the goal charts with 14 league goals this season.