{"id":95647,"date":"2026-05-18T11:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=95647"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:36:08","slug":"gdl-heats-up-as-rockefvs-stands-firm-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=95647","title":{"rendered":"GDL heats up as Rockefvs stands firm under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Saturday, table-topping Rockefvs played to an intense 1-1 draw with Highlands Park. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Changes are afoot at the top of the Gauteng Development League (GDL)<\/strong> standings, with some of the usual suspects, including Kaizer Chiefs<\/strong> and Mamelodi Sundowns<\/strong>, making a move upwards. Rockefvs<\/strong>, however, remains in first place, although the pressure is mounting each week.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the log leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by Highlands Park<\/strong>, another regular title contender, at Balfour Park, with Itebogeng Maake<\/strong>, assisted by Tatenda Nyandoro<\/strong>, earning a share of the spoils for the visitors.<\/p>\n

The Lions of the North<\/strong><\/em>, after the draw at home, are now positioned in the middle of the pack, and they continue to climb since making a slow start to the season.<\/p>\n

They won the GDL in 2023 and 2024<\/strong><\/a>, and finished as the runners-up in<\/strong> 2025<\/strong><\/a>. This season, they stumbled out of the gate, losing their first three matches. However, Sfiso Mnguni’s<\/strong><\/a> squad has recently begun to accumulate points, helped by the inconsistency of other teams.<\/p>\n

Following the draw with Highlands Park, Rockefvs has 23 points, with Siwelele<\/strong>, the early pace-setters,\u00a0in second place. They won a Pretoria derby against the University of Pretoria<\/strong> (Tuks) on Saturday, triumphing 2-1, with Boitshepo Raphala<\/strong> netting the consolation goal for Tuks.<\/p>\n

Randburg<\/strong>, who were in second place, dropped points, going down 1-2 against Jomo Cosmos<\/strong>, which allowed Siwelele to move above them, and just two points behind Rockefvs.<\/p>\n

Joburg City<\/strong> travelled to Vereeniging to face Remember Elite Sport Academy (RESA)<\/strong> at President Park Stadium<\/strong>. A victory for the visitors would have lifted them to 21 points, equal with Siwelele, but Joburg City was held to a 2-2 draw. Karabo Challa<\/strong> and Lindo Chai<\/strong> scored for the visitors.<\/p>\n

The GDL Top 8 champions, Kaizer Chiefs<\/strong><\/a>, rose to third, with 20 points, after scoring a 3-1 victory over Prestige Football Development Academy<\/strong> at Naturena Village<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Brazilians <\/strong><\/em>moved into the top four of the standings following a 5-2 victory against Future of Africa<\/strong> on Saturday at Clapham High<\/strong>. Thando Singo<\/strong> initiated the scoring for ‘Downs<\/strong> <\/em>in the fourth minute of the match, receiving an assist from Kgaeogelo Monanyane<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Monanyane, then, provided a second assist, this time for Sipho Mkhwanazi <\/strong>to net Sundowns’ second. Antonine Bumba<\/strong> contributed their third goal, Zayyaan Nizamdim<\/strong> netted the fourth, and Sivuziwe Lozin<\/strong> capped off the scoring with the champions’ fifth.<\/p>\n

The match was highly competitive, resulting in several cards being issued, including a red card to Mvelo Heliso <\/strong>of Bafana Ba Style<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0in the 87th minute.<\/p>\n

In other matches on Saturday, the Pitso Mosimane Youth Football (PMYF)<\/strong>, which recently joined the GDL after acquiring the status of East Rand Athletic Club,<\/strong><\/a> scored a resounding 6-0 victory over Africa School of Excellence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Both Tebogo Moremi<\/strong> and Mikhulu Booi<\/strong> scored twice, putting PMYF 4-0 ahead, and Yolisa Dyantyi<\/strong> and Mpendulo Sithole<\/strong> further boosted their side’s goal haul.<\/p>\n

The School of Excellence is still struggling to establish itself in the GDL following the acquisition of the development side by Chipcor Developers<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in 2025. Before Chippa Mpengesi’s purchase, the School of Excellence had faced challenges<\/strong><\/a> in recent GDL seasons.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Panorama<\/strong> claimed a 2-1 victory over Kathorus Hyper Academy<\/strong>, with Junior Mabaso<\/strong> scoring both goals for the Roodepoort club, thanks to assists from Thabang Hlaui <\/strong>and Neo Maswabi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

RESULTS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, 16 May<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mamelodi Sundowns 5-2 Future of Africa
\nSiwelele 2-1 University of Pretoria
\nKaizer Chiefs 3-1 Prestige Football Development Academy
\nHighlands Park 1-1 Rockefvs
\nJoburg City 2-2 RESA
\nPMYF 6-0 Africa School of Excellence
\nJomo Cosmos 2-1 Randburg<\/p>\n

Sunday, 17 May<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panorama 2-1 Kathorus Hyper Academy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Changes are afoot at the top of the Gauteng Development League (GDL) standings, with some of the usual suspects, including Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns, making a move upwards. Rockefvs, however, remains in first place, although the pressure is mounting each week. On Saturday, the log leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by Highlands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":94932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}