Ronwen Williams vs Nwabali: Golden Glove battle continues
The battle for the Golden Glove between Mamaelodi Sundowns’ ronwen Williams and Chippa’s Stanely Nwabali continues in the DStv Premiership.
The Golden Glove race between Stanley Nwabali and Ronwen Williams has spilled over from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) to the DStv Premiership. In the latest development, the big Nigerian has closed in on his South African counterpart. The 27-year-old is now two clean sheets away from matching his Mamelodi Sundowns rival.
The Super Eagles’ number one kept his eighth clean sheet of this DStv Premiership campaign for Chippa United in Wednesday’s 3-0 hammering of Richards Bay. The result left the Chilli Boys in 10th place with 23 points, while condemning the visitors to the relegation zone. Justice Chabalala, Craig Martin, and Kayden Francis scored for the hosts at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Things turned from bad to worse for the Natal Rich BoyZ. They finished the match one man short after defender Abdi Banda received a red card in the 54th minute.
HOW STANLEY NWABALI IS PILING PRESSURE ON RONWEN WILLIAMS
For the hosts, it was all smiles with Stanley Nwabali deservedly walking off the pitch with a man-of-the-match accolade. The custodian has since reacted to his latest clean sheet. “Clean sheet in the bag,” he wrote on his X.com account @NwabaliBobo. Such a reaction suggests that he is determined to challenge Ronwen Williams for the Golden Glove crown.
Stanley Nwabali has, this year, kept one clean sheet in three games in all club competitions he has played after returning from Ivory Coast. He conceded when Chippa United drew 1-1 with Stellenbosch last week. The Chilli Boys, featuring the Nigerian, beat NC Professionals 2-1 in a cup match. The Super Eagles goal-minder has an overall eight clean sheets in 17 DStv Premiership games this season.
WHY STANLEY NWABALI IS STILL BEHIND RONWEN WILLIAMS
While Stanley Nwabali has done his Golden Glove aspirations a big favour, Ronwen Williams still leads the way. Statistics show that the Bafana Bafana shot-stopper has kept 10 clean sheets in 13 games for this DStv Premiership season.
After Afcon, Ronwen Williams has continued to impress, keeping clean sheets in three out of four matches across all competitions. The Sundowns man featured in a 1-0 win over TP Mazembe in a CAF Champions League match last week on Saturday. The 33-year-old was also in action as the Tshwane giants beat Mauritanian opponents, FC Nouadhibou, 2-0 in another continental league game. He did not also concede in the 3-0 win over AmaZulu. He, however, let in a goal in the 1-1 draw with Orlando Pirates in a DStv Premiership encounter.
HOW THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TWO KEEPERS STARTED AT 2023 AFCON
Ronwen Williams and Stanley Nwabali took their DStv Premiership rivalry to the 2023 Afcon. The two PSL keepers rendered the 2023 Afcon Golden Glove chase a two-horse race. The Super Eagle was beaten to the award by his South African rival. Nwabali seemed to have shrugged off the Golden Glove competition from Williams after Nigeria beat Bafana Bafana in the Afcon semi-final on post-match penalties.
WHAT THE STATISTICS FOR THE TWO KEEPERS SAY
However, Ronwen Williams kept another clean sheet as the Hugo Broos men beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a third-place play-off. Stanley Nwabali conceded two goals for Nigeria as they lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast in the Afcon final. Overall, the former SuperSport United keeper finished with five clean sheets in seven matches at Afcon, one ahead of the Chippa United keeper.
Meanwhile, the latest reports have linked the Nigerian international with a potential move to either Queens Park Rangers in England or Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, according to @Fabrizio Romano