Will Tinkler’s gamble pay off in Zambia?

JOHANNESBURG: Will SuperSport United pay the price twice for coach Eric Tinkler’s decision to rotate his squad so early in the season?

The Matsatsantsa mentor rang the changes in his team’s 1-1 PSL draw at home against Chippa United on Tuesday night, resting some key players for the trip to Zambia this weekend to face Zesco United in the second leg of their Caf Confederation Cup quarter-final at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium tomorrow.

Tinkler admitted he was puzzled by the lethargic approach from his charges in a fixture that would have pushed them closer to the top of the standings had they won it.

“It shouldn’t be an excuse, but was it because we played so many games in a short while? Or was it because I made so many changes because we have an upcoming game?

“I don’t know to be honest,” the coach told reporters following a deflating draw against a Chippa outfit that was still adjusting to having a new coach in Teboho Moloi.

There can be two ways to analyse Tinkler’s decision to rotate.

Firstly, it is understandable why the coach would have felt the need to try and make sure he had fresh legs going into the Zesco clash given the number of games SuperSport have played so far, including making it all the way to the final of the MTN8.

Secondly, the coach tempered with the team’s momentum – resting a total of six players with his eye on reaching the semi-final of the Confederation Cup.

SuperSport failed to score when they hosted Zesco a week ago, with the coach choosing to look at the positives, which was that the PSL side had managed not to concede and were well poised to grab a crucial away goal in Ndola tomorrow.

But their opponents will argue that it is they who have the advantage – playing in front of their home crowd at a venue where they did not lose any of their matches in the group stages to finish as log leaders.

The fact that there has to be a score result, though, works in SuperSport’s favour.