Marked for Bongani Mkhize
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 Sep 2027
Orlando Pirates ended it 0‑4. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The terraces13 Sep 2027
0-4, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Market13 Sep 2027
“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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sifiso Mothiba is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Nkosingiphile Ngcobo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Makhehleni Makhaula is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Makhehleni Makhaula, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Connor Wilson gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Connor Wilson has just signed for Black Aces, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sifiso Mothiba is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Black Aces will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Makhehleni Makhaula is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market16 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Thulani Kekana again, and this time the name on the line is AFC Leopards. Black Aces are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.91 on the card, and the Black Aces support went home talking about one name.
Market16 Aug 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Black Aces signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Bongani Mkhize out for 20 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The terraces2 Aug 2027
Black Aces sell a favourite for $95.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Themba Vilakazi was one of the reasons people came, and $95.0K does not replace that by itself.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Black Aces
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Black Aces is running low.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Morgan Ngcobo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Makhehleni Makhaula and Black Aces agree another 1 years.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Makhehleni Makhaula was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market2 Aug 2027
Ajax Cape Town pay $95.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 28 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market26 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces26 Jul 2027
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Makhehleni Makhaula from Orlando Pirates for $140.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Market26 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Black Aces have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sifiso Mahlangu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market19 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market19 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Nkosingiphile Ngcobo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Gift Zungu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market19 Jul 2027
A conversation is coming this week. Black Aces will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 2027
The unthinkable, invoiced: Hlompho Mphela sold
Kaizer Chiefs arrived with $2.0M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Jul 2027
“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.
Market12 Jul 2027
The bid was some way short and Black Aces did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The terraces12 Jul 2027
Black Aces sell a favourite for $2.0M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Hlompho Mphela was one of the reasons people came, and $2.0M does not replace that by itself.
Market12 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Levante have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sifiso Manyama. The answer from Black Aces has not changed — yet.
Squad12 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Toumani Diakité is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The terraces12 Jul 2027
Black Aces spend $170.0K on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $170.0K for Meshua Mello, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
In brief
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Squad
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
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The terraces
Supporters make their feelings known about Sifiso Manyama
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market5 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market5 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Black Aces
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Óscar Soto is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Morgan Mokotjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Bongani Mkhize out for 57 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad28 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market28 Jun 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Black Aces will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gift Zungu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 65 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The terraces21 Jun 2027
Supporters turn on the $280.0K sale of Keagan Kekana
He is going to Free State Stars, the club has $280.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Morgan Dala is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Morgan Mokotjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market21 Jun 2027
Free State Stars pay $280.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Bongani Mkhize out for 73 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market14 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and Black Aces did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market14 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Themba Vilakazi again, and this time the name on the line is Jomo Cosmos. Black Aces are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market14 Jun 2027
The fee is $170.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. University of Pretoria drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Derick Keiser is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Bongani Mkhize out for 80 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market7 Jun 2027
“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.
Market7 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Black Aces
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Black Aces is running low.
Market7 Jun 2027
The name of Sifiso Manyama has come up in conversations Black Aces were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Morgan Ngcobo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market31 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 May 2027
Only the photograph left for Keagan Kekana
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Keagan Kekana will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Black Aces the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad31 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hlompho Mphela is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad31 May 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Black Aces are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 2027
A fracture rules Bongani Mkhize out for 96 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market24 May 2027
“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.
Squad24 May 2027
Morgan Mokotjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Morgan Dala and Black Aces agree another 4 years.
Squad24 May 2027
Hlompho Mphela falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market24 May 2027
The shop window has Khama Dala in it
Black Aces have let the market know Khama Dala can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market3 May 2027
Keagan Kekana has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Black Aces they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emiliano Cortés and Black Aces agree another 2 years.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hlompho Mphela is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad3 May 2027
Morgan Mokotjo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Black Aces will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Hlompho Mphela out for 16 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Black Aces will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market29 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A move Derick Keiser would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Derick Keiser is living that version at Black Aces, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Radosław Szafrański falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market29 Mar 2027
The shop window has Khama Dala in it
Black Aces have let the market know Khama Dala can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 51. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khama Dala is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match27 Feb 2027
0‑1 to Golden Arrows, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Nobody could get near Gift Zungu
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khama Dala is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A mark of 7.82, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Black Aces, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match19 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Black Aces
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Black Aces are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Morgan Mokotjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Sifiso Furman is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Match19 Sep 2026
Ajax Cape Town left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Nobody could get near Gift Zungu
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Bongani Mkhize
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market21 Sep 2026
The name of Sifiso Mahlangu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Black Aces say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Black Aces have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 1‑0 win over Polokwane City, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Black Aces training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Khama Dala is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 7.85 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Black Aces had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Aug 2026
2‑6 against SuperSport United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market17 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad17 Aug 2026
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market17 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Black Aces did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market17 Aug 2026
Luther Erasmus has left for Everton in a $3.7M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Black Aces this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Aug 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Black Aces and SuperSport United, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Market17 Aug 2026
The name of Themba Vilakazi has come up in conversations Black Aces were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.