Davids not stressing over loss of Rusike

Fileccia, Mokate must now deliver

Just when you thought Maritzburg United have turned the corner, they have lost their best striker.

As they prepare to face Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium tomorrow (8.15pm), the Team of Choice’s head coach Fadlu Davids finds himself with less options up front.

Maritzburg depended on marksman Evans Rusike, but the Zimbabwean has left to join SuperSport United.

Rusike has seven league goals, just two behind the leading goalscorer Rodney Ramagalela.

You’d probably expect Davids to be a very worried man as he has to find a solution, but the PSL’s youngest head coach, 36, is optimistic about life after Rusike.

“It’s an opportunity for the younger players to fill the shoes,” Davids told Sowetan yesterday.

“I don’t think it’s about replacing him. It’s about finding solutions within the squad. We believe in our players; Andrea Fileccia, Mohau Mokate [and] Luyanda Ntshangase coming in to give us options up front,” he said.

“We have to use the qualities we have in the squad and tweak our attacking structures sligh tly to be able to play differently without him.”

Davids’ charges are sixth on the table after 19 matches, two spots below the Buccaneers who are reeling from their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Ajax Cape Town in midweek.

“We have to be structured against Pirates, because they are a very attacking side.

“It’s going to be an end-toend open game,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pirates mentor Micho Sredojevic claims that “all the statistics” were on his side despite the heavy loss to Ajax on Wednesday. The Serbian will be hoping for a better outcome on their home turf.

When the two sides met at the Harry Gwala Stadium in September they played to a goalless draw.

‘ ‘ We have to use the qualities we have in squad