Highlands Park suffers first GDL loss, Joburg City on a roll
The back-to-back Gauteng Development League (GDL) champions, Highlands Park, suffered their first loss of the season, going down at home, on Monday, when they became Joburg City’s third victim in succession this season.
Gone are the days when a select few dominated the league. The underdogs are making their presence felt this season, and the usual bullies are feeling the pressure seven rounds into the 2025 edition of Africa’s top development competition.
Highlands Park was unbeaten through six rounds, but that clean record was brought to a sudden and emphatic stop by Joburg City, who inflicted a humbling 3-0 defeat on coach Sifiso Mnguni’s charges at Balfour Park.
Highlands Park’s lacklustre performance in front of their home fans might have had something to do with the fact that they hadn’t played any competitive football for almost a fortnight, which included missing out on the Bayhill Cup, in Cape Town, over the Easter weekend.
Nonetheless, The Lions of the North became the latest team to fall victim to Joburg City.
It’s a far cry from Joburg City’s showing last season when they finished a lowly 16th in the 18-team league. This season, they have beaten School of Excellence, Seven’s Academy, and have now added Highlands Park to their hit list.
Those three wins are half the number they won all of last season.
While Highlands Park dropped points, Supersport United hung on to first place with a 2-0 victory over Seven’s Academy, on Saturday, and a 2-1 victory over Elspark United, on Monday, to complete a successful weekend of away fixtures for coach Tumelo Ndaba’s unit.
Kaizer Chiefs was also clinical, beating School of Excellence 3-1, on Saturday, before adding to Seven’s Academy’s misery with a 2-1 defeat, on Monday.
Kathorus Hyper Academy also enjoyed a fruitful weekend, securing 1-1 draws against TS Galaxy, on Saturday, and Jomo Cosmos, on Monday.
In other fixtures, Mamelodi Sundowns continued their climb up the log standings after charging to a 5-0 win over TS Galaxy. East Rand Athletic Club lost 1-3 to Remember Elite Sport Academy, while Panorama beat Rockefvs FC 1-0.
FIXTURES
Saturday, 26 April
School of Excellence 1-3 Kaizer Chiefs
TS Galaxy 1-1 Kathorus Hyper Academy
Jomo Cosmos 1-2 Panorama FC
Tuks 1-1 Wits Junior
Seven’s Academy 0-2 Supersport United
Monday, 28 April
Highlands Park 0-3 Joburg City
Mamelodi Sundowns 5-0 TS Galaxy
Kathorus Hyper Academy 1-1 Jomo Cosmos
Randburg AFC 2-0 Tuks
East Rand Athletic Club 1-3 Remember Elite Sport Academy
Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 Seven’s Academy
Elspark United 1-2 Supersport United
Panorama 1-0 Rockefvs FC
