Chippa United bounce back with 1-0 victory

A GOAL from Lerato Manzini saw Chippa United reserve team bounce back to their winning ways when they beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in their MultiChoice Diski Challenge at Dobsonville Stadium at the weekend.

The Port Elizabeth side came back into form after two consecutive defeats with the most recent one being an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic.

Chilli Boys development coach Glen Minnie said a win against the Soweto giants was important for the team to redeem themselves.

But most importantly, he said, a victory would also prove to the team that hard work pays off.

“Our game with Kaizer Chiefs was one of the games that we knew we had to win in order to redeem ourselves and to prove to ourselves that our hard work had to finally pay off,” Minnie said.

“The game was played at a very competitive pace.

“The boys played according to instructions. I said to them we need to stay as compact as possible and also get them to play in front of us.

“Once they play in front of us they won’t be able to hurt us in any way.

“What surprised me most coming back from a big defeat against Celtic was that the boys’ character and fighting spirit was unbelievable.

“They played so hard that Chiefs could not stick to their game plan because we fought for every ball.

“We kept our discipline and we kept our shape, but it was very hard,” Minnie said.

The Chilli Boys next play Mamelodi Sundowns at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on Saturday.

Thereafter they take a break for Christmas.

Minnie said the victory against AmaKhosi was a great boost for the team ahead of the Sundowns game.

“We have set ourselves a goal to end the year on a high before we go to the Christmas break by beating Sundowns.”