Captain Kekana relishes the underdog tag for Amakhosi clash
THE POSSIBILITY of Kaizer Chiefs stunning Mamelodi Sundowns in a match that the Brazilians are expected to win excites Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana.
The Brazilians are the overwhelming favourites in the opening match of the 2018-19 PSL season at Loftus on Saturday. Sundowns’ relatively B-team dominated Amakhosi in the Shell Helix Ultra Cup.
The Pretoria club don’t only have a stronger team than their opponents, but they’ve also played more competitive matches while Chiefs’ pre-season has been underwhelming with performances that haven’t screamed championship material. But Amakhosi can flip the script on Sundowns like they did last season in this corresponding fixture. An injury-ravaged Chiefs returned from South Africa’s capital with three points and a 2-1 win.
“I love the game because it’s not based on how people see it and who are favourites,” Kekana said. “It’s all about who pitches (up) on match day. That prospect excites me. We have to apply ourselves well on the match and if we do that, we stand a good chance of winning.
“The expectations are very high from both teams because Chiefs aren’t just any ordinary team. They are a big team and a powerhouse in South African football. When we play them, we always get this extra motivation because we’re not on the same level. If we play as underdogs, it would be a nice tag for us.”
For the first time in two years Sundowns had a semblance of a break because of the Fifa World Cup. Pitso Mosimane gave his players a break of more than three weeks having been the last team to go into recess after winning the league thanks to the Caf Champions League. They were also the first team to return to competitive football in back-to-back clashes with AS Togo-Port. But Kekana and his teammates don’t complain about their workload.
“The inspiration for us is simple, it’s the love of the game and the goals that we have set as a team. We want to be the generation that brings a lot of trophies to Chloorkop,” Kekana said.
Kekana’s generation brought the most important trophy in the club’s history in 2016, the Champions League. The 33-year-old midfielder from Zebediela was captain during that successful spell and in May he won his first league trophy as Sundowns captain.
“We have set the bar very high and we have to maintain the standards that we have set for ourselves,” Kekana said. “We should start very well. I am not happy with the way we started last season because we lost a lot of games.”