Marked for Gift Hlatshwayo
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
Cohen Stander and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Black Aces
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zuko Mdunyelwa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Khama Zwane, and the manager let it.
Market16 Nov 2026
The name of Mandla Erasmus keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Black Aces say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Lebogang Erasmus asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Black Aces can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Thulani Mabaso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Black Aces
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zuko Mdunyelwa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match31 Oct 2026
Black Aces rescue it on 92 minutes
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 92. Kaizer Chiefs had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gift Hlatshwayo and Black Aces agree another 3 years.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Williams Dala makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Market2 Nov 2026
Themba Mabunda is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Black Aces has been clear about where Themba Mabunda stands, which is more than many ever get.
Match31 Oct 2026
It needed Percy Mothiba to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Kaizer Chiefs, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.