We had our very own version of Mike Tyson versus Evander Holyfield in the Absa Premiership this week when two coaches came to blows off the SuperSport cameras minutes after the KwaZulu Natal derby between Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United.
Okay, no one’s ear was bitten off, but Ernst Middendorp, on the Maritzburg corner, claimed that Mandla Ncikazi, from the Arrows corner, kicked him in the face. Wait, what?
Yes, a PSL coach accused another one of kicking him in the face shortly after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Wednesday night.
This encounter seemed to have it all – two goals, a red card and fist fights in the dugout. It puts the Soweto Derby to shame.If the pre-match quotes from Arrows head coach Clinton Larsen, who roped Ncikazi in as his assistant two months ago, were anything to go by, then you would not have been far off in assuming there would be some confrontations during and after the game.
Asked whether he was sympathetic to Maritzburg, who are odds-on to get relegated from the Premier League next month as they are currently bottom of the log, Larsen’s response was a bit out of character.
“They are desperate at the moment and hopefully their desperation will play into our hands. Having said that, I’m beyond being emotional. My loyalty all lies with Arrows. People must stop talking about emotions when it comes to my former clubs because I have no loyalty to them.”
OUCH! And he wasn’t finished.”Also, I didn’t get them (Maritzburg) into that situation and I really don’t care about the situation they’re in. All I care about is Golden Arrows and making sure we pick up points,” Larsen concluded.
Now, knowing how Middendorp trolls the internet for anything written or said about him, it is possible that the German coach somehow got a whiff of this and arrived at the Princess Magogo Stadium all charged-up.
Things got off to a horrible start when winger Deolin Mekoa was given his marching orders in the first half for abusive language towards referee Zolile Mthetho, and Maritzburg had it all to do to find a late equaliser, with Arrows having taken the lead from the penalty spot as early as the 17th minute.
Middendorp’s head must have been spinning. A fellow football scribe has argued for years – even when Middendorp first arrived in the country to coach Kaizer Chiefs in 2005 – that the man who often comes across as a serial media-basher can start an argument all by himself in an empty room.
It’s not hard to see how he came to that supposition, and recently when Maritzburg came to Johannesburg to face Amakhosi in a league match, which ended in a thrilling 3-2 win for the home side in February, Middendorp nearly got into an altercation with his opposite number, Steve Komphela.
Apparently he is of the opinion that some players, veteran Ghanaian defender John Paintsil in particular, Komphela had recruited to join the Team of Choice during his spell there last season, were simply not good enough and had to be shown the door.
There’s probably more that was said behind closed doors, but Komphela was visibly disgusted as the two shared the podium in a post-match briefing.The shoe fits, doesn’t it?
On Wednesday against Arrows, Middendorp told a television interviewer: “I think we must tell, the coach (Ncikazi) has come into me and kicked me in my face, I don’t know if it is normal, but I can take it, it’s not a problem, I’ve got a lot of emotion.” He then insinuated that Arrows owner and current PSL acting chief executive CEO, Mato Madlala, had somehow influenced the result.
“What happened here today, I think it’s very delicate. We have seen the boss of PSL running around here all over before the game, knowing exactly what she wants to do, what she wants to see, and this is not fair.
This is not okay, a very delicate event we had here this evening and we have to calm down, but in our situation we really don’t need something like this.”Yikes! This could very easily land Middendorp in hot water and further distract him from the job at hand, which is to see to it that Maritzburg avoid the drop, which, in my opinion, is highly unlike.
But there are five matches remaining and anything can happen. They have a better chance of that if the coach keeps a lid on it, seriously.
Saturday Star