SOLINAS UNFAZED
EMBATTLED Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas is not fazed by facing Orlando Pirates in the semi-finals of the Telkom Knockout after he was outmuscled in round one when these two Soweto giants met in an Absa Premiership showdown last week.
Amakhosi advanced to the last four of the TKO following their 1-0 victory over SuperSport United in Durban on Sunday.
Ramahlwe Mphahlele netted the winner for Amakhosi as they set up the date with their arch-rivals in what should be a humdinger of a match.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is set to announce the dates and the venues for the semi-finals in due course.
For now, however, the defending champions, Bidvest Wits, will face Polokwane City at the Peter Mokaba Stadium when the semi-finals are played on the weekend of November 24.
Still fresh in everyone’s mind is how Pirates recently humbled Chiefs in the Soweto Derby as they collected the maximum points following a 2-1 win at FNB Stadium.
Credentials
Prior to the game, Rhulani Mokwena, the assistant coach at Pirates, questioned the credentials of Solinas – and that gamesmanship worked perfectly for the Buccaneers.
However,Solinas is confident his team can redeem themselves against Pirates when next they meet.
“I repeat, if my team play and perform like today (against SuperSport United), I have no fear (to come up against any team). You can’t predict the derby.
“The derby is open for any results. But now in this derby we are more confident because the fitness of key players is improving. The injured players have recovered.
“When we have the whole squad available it is a different story, “Solinas said.
The final of the TKO will be played at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on December 8.
The last time these teams met in a knockout competition was back in 2015 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in the final of the MTN8, where Amakhosi emerged winners thanks to a welltaken header by Tefu Mashamaite.
Currently both sides are looking to end their trophy drought. Pirates haven’t lifted silverware since winning the Nedbank Cup in 2014, while Amakhosi are searching for their first trophy in three years.
But before these two face off in the TKO they have to pay attention to improving their log standings.
“Now we need to focus on the next game because there’s no time to recover. Wednesday (tomorrow) we have another game. The position of Chiefs on the log (seventh) is not good. We need to win the game on Wednesday. We need to improve our position because we are Chiefs and Chiefs play football to win,” Solinas elaborated.
Tomorrow, Amakhosi will welcome Black Leopards at FNB Stadium in a PSL tussle at 7.30pm.
Chiefs have 14 points after 11 matches and are currently six points behind the leaders, Bidvest Wits who are at the summit with 20 points from 10 matches.