Change of guard as Birds take on Chiefs
FORMER assistant coach Goodman Mazibuko and youth coach Patrick Mabedi will serve as caretaker-coaches when Moroka Swallows meet Kaizer Chiefs in the Absa Premiership at Dobsonville Stadium tonight.
Mazibuko, the former Birds midfielder, and exdefender Mabedi take the reins following the resignation of Fani Madida as head coach on Monday. The new pairing took charge of Swallows session at their training fields in Germiston yesterday. Mazibuko could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Madida’s resignation came as the Birds have started to look candidates for the last-placed, outright relegation spot that at one stage appeared reserved for a woeful AmaZulu.
Usuthu’s sudden run of impressive results – big wins at home against SuperSport United (5-2) and Bidvest Wits (3-1) being followed by a 1-1 draw away to Chippa United with 10 men – will have had alarm bells ringing at Swallows.
Madida had moderate success as caretaker replacing Zeca Marques from October, earning 10 points from nine games. After the former Chiefs striker was appointed head coach this year, Swallows lost four in succession then earned one desperate 2-1 home victory against Free State Stars. But Saturday’s 2-1 away defeat to Black Aces was the final straw.
Mazibuko and Mabedi will take some hope that they meet a Chiefs side in an awkward phase.
Amakhosi return from a poor week in KwaZuluNatal. First they suffered just their second league defeat, 1-0 against Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium, a result that saw second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns close the gap on the leaders to eight points, with a game in hand.
Then Chiefs lost 1-0 to Raja Casablanca in the first leg of their Caf Champions League first round tie at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Coach Stuart Baxter knows he needs to instil confidence again to avoid a repeat of last season, where Chiefs spurned an 11-point gap to finish runners-up to Downs.
“The game against Maritzburg was disappointing. It was losing towards the end with a set play, and not taking our chances when we dominated,” Baxter said. “Against Raja we played a top-class team, and gave a good performance. On another day it could have been a draw or even a win for us.
“The difficult part is when the games come thick and fast you want to rotate, but you don’t want to lose your balance and consistency. Because then when the performances go down, that’s when you start to lose confidence.”
Goal-scoring has been Chiefs’ number one problem this year. In the league, they have scored one goal and earned one win, both against Ajax Cape Town at FNB Stadium on March 4. Baxter will aim to get his combinations right up-front between Bernard Parker, Siphelele Mthembu, Matthew Rusike and Katlego Mphela.
Birds will look to recently off-colour veterans such as Lerato Chabangu, Dikgang Mabalane and Lefa Tsutsulupa to step up against a Chiefs side they drew 1-1 away against in the first round.