The Bloemfontein Celtic Sentinel
Match26 Feb 2028
No end in sight to Bloemfontein Celtic's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bloemfontein Celtic has to find a result from somewhere.
Match23 Feb 2028
Bloemfontein Celtic bow out of the cup
Ajax Cape Town go through and Bloemfontein Celtic go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Khama Phiri scores twice — 8.76
Two goals and a mark of 8.76 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Mohamed Essam keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bloemfontein Celtic may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
A defender's goal wins it for Bloemfontein Celtic — 7.68
1 for Hlompho Manyama, marked 7.68, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Hlompho Manyama in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bloemfontein Celtic this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
A hand in 2 of them from Luther Manyama — 7.43
Marked 7.43. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
Match26 Feb 2028
Khama Phiri among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Khama Phiri on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Bloemfontein Celtic and Free State Stars.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Mpho Chabatsane 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.
In brief
- Player ratings Keagan Modiba runs at them all day
- Squad No hiding place for Siyabonga Mokotjo
- Match Khama Phiri rescues a point for Bloemfontein Celtic