Golden Arrows Season Review: Abafana Bes'thende disappoint in goal-shy campaign

The 2024/25 Betway Premiership season saw Golden Arrows reinstate Mabhuti Khenyeza as head coach following Steve Komphela's abrupt return to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Abafana Bes'thende started brightly with back-to-back 2-0 wins over Stellenbosch in Cape Town and Marumo Gallants back at home, to claim the top spot on the table.

This was followed by a sharp decline in form, as Arrows lost their next four consecutive matches without scoring a goal, including their 5-0 thrashing by Mamelodi Sundowns in the Carling Knockout Cup Round of 16.

In mid-December, the KwaZulu-Natal side then faced the resignation of head coach Mabhuti Khenyeza following a spirited 3-2 victory against Cape Town City.

The club had released a statement on social media prior to acknowledging his resignation, claiming that the former Bafana Bafana striker had been missing from training.

Following Khenyeza's exit, the club temporarily placed former players Musa Bilankulu and Kagiso Dikgacoi at the helm.

The pair led Arrows for the next nine fixtures, winning only once, before the re-appointment of Manqoba Mngqithi, who returned for his third stint with the club.

However, following a 1-1 draw against Mngqithi's former employers Mamelodi Sundowns and a 1-0 victory away to Polokwane City, the team from Lamontville failed to win league matches and move up the table.

A nine-player raid on fellow KwaZulu-Natal based rivals Royal AM in late April, following Thwihli Thwahla's expulsion from the league, did little to change the teams fortunes.

In early May, reports emerged that Arrows had fired their long-serving and experienced duo of defender Thabani Zuke and Zimbabwean forward Knox Mutizwa, although the latter surprisingly continued to feature for the team until the end of the season.

According to reports, Zuke had signed a pre-contract agreement to join Durban rivals Amazulu as a free agent for the 2025/26.

Chairlady Mato Madlala's side only managed to collect eight points from a possible 27 in the final nine league matches of the season, to see the Lamontville team settle for a disappointing 12 position.

Arrows scored 21 goals in 30 matches in all competitions in the 2024/25 Betway Premiership, 16 fewer than the previous season.

Golden Arrows will be happy to have the opportunity to prepare a full pre-season program under coach Manqoba Mngqithi To help solve their goalscoring woes and defensive problems ahead of the 2025/26 season.  

Key stats from Abafana Bes'thende's season:

Key player              - Siyanda Mthanti (5 goal contributions - 2 goals, 3 assists)
Top goalscorers    - Knox Mutizwa, Nduduzo Sibiya (3 goals)
Most minutes         - Gladwin Shitolo (2467 minutes played)
Clean sheets          - 10 ( Ismail Watenga - 4, Edward Maova - 6)