Clever Boys face another testing clash

PREMIERSHIP title-holders Bidvest Wits have barely had enough time to catch their breath after beating Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend and must now turn their attention to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Wits host Sundowns in a mouthwatering league match at Bidvest Stadium tonight just days after dumping Chiefs out of the Telkom TKO.

Coach Gavin Hunt will need his charges to quickly switch focus from cup mode to the league after beating Chiefs 1-0 at the selfsame venue to reach the final of the cup competition on Saturday.

Midfielder Xolani Mlambo‚ who won man-of-the-match against Chiefs‚ said he hoped that they would retain their fighting spirit against the Brazilians and work very hard to stop coach Pitso Mosimane’s star-studded side.

‘‘We have to have the same approach‚ the same fighting spirit that we had [against Chiefs] – hopefully Lady Luck will be on our side again‚” he said.

‘‘It’s never easy playing against teams like Mamelodi Sundowns‚ Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

‘‘You always have to fight‚ grind and do whatever it takes to get the win.

“The competition will always be tougher and everything. So going into that game is as important as any other game,” he added.

Wits have had a horror start to the season in the league and the champions remain second from the bottom in the premiership standings.

They have won just two matches from nine outings and Hunt will be desperate to get all the points against a Sundowns side that is more than capable of turning on the charm.

Hunt has to assess his captain‚ Thulani Hlatshwayo‚ and the coach said the defender‚ who has been out with a bruised toe‚ remains doubtful for the Sundowns encounter.

‘‘I don’t know with injuries anymore‚” said Hunt.

‘‘In my day we never had doctors and physios – we’ve got too many guys. “I don’t know. ‘‘Hopefully he [Hlatshwayo] can get back for the Sundowns game but look‚ he hasn’t trained now for two weeks and that’s another problem.”

Sundowns are seventh on the standings and will be desperate to put together a consistent run of results after beating Pirates (3-1) in their last league game but also going down to Chiefs (2-1) and AmaZulu (2-1) in their previous results. — DDC